


The Force Unknown

by Santheum



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Fantasy, London, M/M, Supernatural Elements, Swearing, almost everyone is British, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-12-06
Packaged: 2018-06-02 16:17:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 40,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6573259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Santheum/pseuds/Santheum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Poe has come out of a bad patch in his life and finally gotten a job. Not much, just a coffee shop in a theatre. </p><p>Then he meets the mysterious Luke Skywalker, and things become infinitely more interesting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Put some trousers on

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, after years of fanart I am finally trying my hand at writing. *Waves!* Come bother me on tumblr santheum.tumblr.com
> 
> This is all the fault of leupagus, who wrote an excellent Poe/Luke fic called 'to the sky without wings' (and is continuing to write more! Shine on you crazy diamond).
> 
> Now, let me tell you all about a sad Londoner called Poe Dameron...

“Up, up, time to get up!” Rey sang, throwing Poe’s door open and flooding the room with sunlight. Poe groaned and pulled the covers over his head, burrowing further into the comfort of his bed. As beds went, this one was frankly amazing, and he was definitely not ready to leave it.

“Rise and shine, there is coffee in the pot!” Rey continued, throwing open the curtains and causing him further pain. “Although I don’t know how you can stand it, it smells awful.”

Rey had the most adorable facial expression when she was complaining, but Poe didn’t have the energy to look up just then. A marching band had taken up residence in his skull, along with a badger that seemed to have crawled into his mouth and died.

“Coffee is the nectar of the Gods,” he managed to grumble, deeply offended that Rey would 1) insult his heavenly brew and 2) wake him up without actually bringing a cup up and placing it in his hand.

“Which is why you’re going to get up and help yourself,” she said, and Poe had to quietly congratulate her on her cunning. Poking his head out from the safety of his quilt cocoon, he gave her the stink eye.

“Why are you so dreadfully chipper this morning?” he croaked. Rey was at least seven years younger than him, which is likely why she wasn’t as hungover as he was, curse her. She was also ungodly fit, and Poe took in her obvious workout clothes with as much disdain as he could muster.

“Because I drink lots of water and I went for a run this morning, nothing better!” she insisted, confirming Poe’s suspicions. He rolled over onto his back, only to have a t-shirt flung in his face.

“Woman, stop throwing clothes at me and get out of my room!” Poe moaned, in a very manly fashion. Rey giggled all the way out the door, leaving it deliberately open. “Don’t come back without coffee next time!”

With great effort, Poe rolled into a sitting position, rubbing a tired hand over his face. Last night they’d met up with their best friend Finn, and the three of them had vigorously congratulated Poe on his new status as an employed person. All of it had seemed like a great idea at the time, but Poe often forgot that he was an old loser who hung out with twenty somethings.

Groaning for full dramatic effect, Poe pulled on the t-shirt Rey had thrown at him before stumbling to the bathroom. His skin looked grey in the harsh light, and Poe winced, making a half arsed attempt to shave. He wasn’t starting work until later that evening, which would hopefully give him time to recover.

A loud yowling noise sounded from around his feet, and Poe looked down to see a slinky fur ball wrapping around his leg.

“Hey BB buddy,” he said, throwing his razor aside. BB looked at him with an innocent expression, before jumping onto the edge of the bath. “Is this your way of telling me I should shower?”

BB yowled again, obviously in agreement, and Poe grinned as he reached out to scratch the cat’s ear. He wasn’t sure what breed she was, but she looked like a small jungle cat, with big, luminescent eyes. 

“Did you let that cat in again?” Rey’s voice drifted up from the kitchen, and Poe stumbled towards the heavenly smell of coffee. The smell alone brought him to full wakefulness, and he narrowly avoided tripping over BB as the cat bounded ahead of him.

Rey, who was now totally forgiven, had poured the coffee into a mug and left it on the kitchen table. It was black as tar and unsweetened, and Poe might have made a slightly erotic noise as he swallowed the first scolding mouthful.

“Don’t say that, BB loves us and wishes she was our cat,” Poe managed, after another sip of coffee.

Rey ignored the comment, although she was definitely giving BB an affectionate look as the cat pranced around the kitchen table.

“You loon,” she said, shoving a piece of toast at him. “Put some trousers on,” The toast was slathered in butter, and Poe shoved it mindlessly into his mouth.

“Fanks,” he mouthed around the toast, laughing as Rey made a disgruntled face and left him to it.

BB was already poking her nose into places that cats were not supposed to be, so Poe reached down and scooped her up. She growled in protest, but settled instantly onto his shoulder, like some strange parody of a parrot.

“You’re a weird cat,” Poe said, pouring himself another coffee as BB gave a rumbling purr into his ear.

The rest of the day passed like treacle, oozing the hours away as Poe lazed around the house. BB had lounged with him for some time, chewed his fingers and then decided her time was up. She came and went through any open window in the house – Poe wouldn’t see her for days at a time, then she’d join him in the shower and scare the living hell out of him. Occasionally, she wore a collar that simply read ‘BB-8’, whatever that meant. Maybe a serial number, but it was as good a name as any.

Rey went out at some point, leaving Poe both cat-less and friendless, but he felt too listless to do anything about it. His mind kept buzzing over how tonight would go; he was pretty out of practice when it came to employment, and he was probably older than most of the other employees. He doubted very much they would see him as the voice of wisdom, as clearly he was an old nerd. Or cat lady in training, as Rey often called him.

Halfway through something on Netflix, Poe’s phone rang from somewhere underneath him. Juggling his laptop and some cheesy Doritos, he managed to fish it out before it rang off, grinning as he saw the name.

“Hey buddy,” he said, settling back on his bed.

“Hey Poe! Rey texted me. She said you’re so hungover you’ve been in the house in your underwear all day.” Finn’s laughing voice came down the phone, and Poe could picture his expression.

“Rey is a traitor who will not be getting a Christmas present this year,” Poe replied, glancing down at his t-shirt and boxers. “Plus I’m definitely wearing a t-shirt. And socks.”

“Super attractive mate, well done.” Finn laughed. “Listen, do you and Rey wanna come over for dinner tomorrow? Phasma dropped off this massive lasagne for like, 10 people because that woman does not understand human portion sizes,” he said, and Poe had to laugh. Phasma was Finn’s foster mother; she was tall and terrifying, but still looked out for Finn like he was one of her own.

“Sounds great buddy. I mean, especially because you didn’t cook it.” Poe said, shoving his phone between his shoulder and his ear.

“Mate, I would be calling for an ambulance if I had.” Finn laughed, and Poe let the sound wash over him like a warm blanket. “So I’ll see you and Rey tomorrow? Trousers not optional.”

“Yeah, I’ll get her to text you. Trousers are totally optional by the way,” Poe grinned, hanging up before Finn could get in a clever retort. He had a vague memory from last night of having a small nervous breakdown about being a 30 year old getting his first job in customer service, but Finn thankfully didn’t bring that up. His efforts to put Poe at ease were pretty transparent, however. Like his foster mother, Finn was absolute in his belief that food cured all ills. Poe’s stomach chose that moment to grumble, and with a moan, he rolled himself out of bed.

After that, time seemed to go faster, and before Poe knew it his alarm was warning him it was time to get ready. He’d been told to wear a white shirt and black trousers, as that was basically the uniform, which he threw an old jumper over. Finn, the bastard, had stolen his favourite jacket, so Poe shoved on a ratty hoody to keep off the evening chill.

“I could walk you to the tube station,” Rey offered, as he jogged down the stairs.

“It’s not my first day at school, ma,” he shot back, jumping the last step. She threw his keys at him, which he caught with a smug look.

“Don’t leave your keys lying around them. I’m not letting you in at 3am. Some of us have jobs in normal working hours.” She said sternly, then ruined it by walking up and ruffling his hair. Poe jolted backwards, laughing as he shoved her away.

“What a wasted life you lead,” he said, escaping out the door before she could continue to ruin his hair.

It was a crisp, autumn evening, and early night was beginning to creep in. Poe shoved his hands into his pockets, his smile slowly fading as he began walking to the station. By the time he was in Central London it was dark, twinkling lights blooming all over the city.

Walking along the river was pleasant, and Poe took a moment to enjoy it as he headed towards the main hub of activity. His new job was in the Millennium Theatre – it was an ugly, sprawling building on the banks of the river, boasting the most talented productions outside of the West End. Poe doubted he would be meeting any famous actors, since his main job would be in the coffee bar, with occasional stewarding.

Poe walked up to the side of the building, eyeing the statue of a bird at entrance. The Millennium Falcon was the symbol of the establishment; Poe privately it looked less like a majestic bird of prey and more like a piece of junk someone had fished out of a skip.

Shaking his head at his own thoughts, Poe walked into the staff entrance and was promptly whisked away for his training. After worrying about making a tit of himself, Poe was actually pleased to be busy. He learnt quickly and he was good with his hands, and the supervisors seemed to feel he was showing the right level of enthusiasm for his work.

“Hey,” one of the other new employees said, after they’d been deemed well behaved enough to clean tables by themselves. “I’m Jess. Is this your first time working in a theatre?”

“Hey, I’m Poe,” he said, giving her his best I’m-harmless-and-charming smile. “Yeah. Although technically we’re working in a coffee shop.”

“Pedantic much,” Jess said, and Poe knew he’d definitely made a friend. “It’s a coffee shop where you get to pretend to be even more pretentious than Starbucks.”

“I dunno, Starbucks is pretty pretentious.” Poe could see some customers beginning to file in, ready to lubricate themselves before the next evening performance. “But they don’t serve wine, so we get to be drunk and pretentious.”

Jess laughed, and together they walked back to the counter, where the supervisor was beckoning them. Overall it wasn’t a bad first day at work, and it was certainly better than sitting at home doing nothing. But Poe couldn’t exactly say his life was… exciting.

-

After the first few weeks, Poe fell into a monotonous routine. He liked to throw himself into his work; it kept both his mind and body busy, which were only good things for him. His highlight was still seeing Finn and Rey whenever he could, but that was becoming increasingly difficult, as he took up more working hours in the evening.

Thankfully, Jess and he were becoming pretty good friends.

“Okay, fuck, marry, kill,” Jess started to say, and Poe shushed her before giving his customer a bright smile. The man was looking down his nose at Poe, which wasn’t difficult, as he was a lot taller. Poe thought the look was pretty rich coming from someone so ginger, but Jess had been right; this place was ten times more pretentious than Starbucks.

“A cappuccino, and try to actually make the coffee hot this time,” the man said, and Poe continued to smile as he imagined spitting in it. He was a professional though, and the coffee appeared, sans spit and piping hot.

Poe’s next customer was an older man with magnetic blue eyes, who’d clearly heard the ginger twat before him. He ordered a hot chocolate and gave Poe a dimpled smile that made him fumble the cream.

Poe didn’t remember most people he served, but this man stuck in his memory. He was so striking, in his long black coat and leather gloves. He was only about as tall as Poe, but there was a presence about him, his frame slim but powerful. Poe remembered especially because he was back the next day, and the day after that, always ordering a hot chocolate and sitting in the same spot to read a book.

“Who is that?” he asked Jess the next week, whilst he was cleaning out the steamer.

“Oh, Mr black coat? He’s one of those patrons of the arts type. He probably has a lifelong membership to the theatre. I’ve seen him at most of the evening performances.”

“We must do a pretty mean hot chocolate if he keeps coming back,” Poe said, yanking his hand away from the hot metal with a hiss.

“Be careful you muppet,” Jess laughed, rearranging the cakes display. “Oh, your boyfriend is coming over by the way.”

“What-“ Poe turned, his heart giving a strange little thump as he looked back to the counter. Sure enough, the man was walking over to them, running a gloved hand through his sandy hair. Jess’ boyfriend comment had Poe suppressing a blush, and Poe had to sternly remind himself that he was an adult, damn it. He did, however, abandon his cleaning in favour of rushing to the till.

“Hi, can I get you something?” Poe said, and deliberately pretended he couldn’t hear Jess hiss ‘like your number’.

“Just paying my tab,” the man said, holding out a card. “You’ll have to swipe it I’m afraid.” He had an accent that Poe couldn’t quite place, like he’d learnt English from watching American television. His card definitely wasn’t English, or it was really old, because it didn’t have the chip in it.

Taking it with a nod, Poe literally couldn’t help himself – his eyes scanned over the card, taking in the name ‘Luke Skywalker’. Only a man with a name like that could pull off that coat, Poe thought.

“Can I get you anything to go? The blueberry muffins are very nice,” Poe said, feeling like he’d lost control of his mouth. Luke Skywalker was giving him an amused look, his bright eyes twinkling.

“If you say so. I’ll have to get one next time,” he said, and Poe found he couldn’t look him in the eye anymore. Heat was rushing down his neck, and he processed the payment in record time, glad his hands weren’t shaking. Luke signed his name with an untidy scrawl on his receipt, and Poe handed everything back without brushing their hands together.

When he finally walked away, Jess was giving Poe a funny look.

“What?” he said, the heat still lingering in his spine, making his face hot.

“Nothing just… I’ve never seen you so painfully awkward, I didn’t think it was possible.” She said, and grinned when Poe threw a napkin at her.

-

It wasn’t that he was specifically watching for when Luke came in. It was just that… it was hard not to notice when he did. His random appearances reminded Poe a little of BB; just when you thought you’d seen the last of him, there he would be.

“A hot chocolate?” Poe smiled, as Luke walked up to the counter. His order was easy enough to remember, but Poe had also begun noticing little things about him. Like, he always carried an umbrella, even though it wasn’t raining.

“How did you guess?” Luke said, raising his eyebrows comically before smiling at Poe. The ever present umbrella was tucked under one arm, along with the copy of the Metro. His bright, indulgent smile was doing things to Poe that he would rather not think about, so he busied himself with making the drink.

It was likely the saddest crush Poe had ever had in his life. He couldn’t even bring himself to tell Finn and Rey, his best friends in the whole world, probably because he was so disappointed in himself. It was typical that he would want someone completely unobtainable, who was maybe fifteen years older than him, and probably rich as sin. That was just par for the course in his life really, wanting things that were well out of his reach.

Jess knew of course, and like a good friend, ribbed him about it constantly.

“I think you should just slip him your number, on a napkin. That works in films.” She said, as she shooed him off for a break.

“The key word there was films Jess, not actual life.” He sighed, hanging up his apron. “He’s probably not even gay. He’s probably the straightest man with a fashion sense in the history of the world.”

“Oh my god Poe, the man drinks hot chocolate and wears cashmere scarves. You are so oblivious.”

“Hey, I don’t drink hot chocolate and wear cashmere scarves, are you going to evoke my LGBT club membership?” Poe said, putting on a wounded expression. Jess swatted at him until he walked away, laughing.

Even if Luke was gay, Poe thought, he was totally married gay with a dozen adopted children. Clutching the coffee he’d made for himself, Poe bought a sandwich from the break room and decided to sit out in the café area today. It was starting to get busy, but Poe hated the stuffy, windowless break room.

Even for those not going to see a show, the café was a popular meeting place. The exterior of the building was grey and tragic, but the inside was open, airy and had lots of comfortable sofas to sit on. Poe chose a corner table and picked up a discarded newspaper, browsing through it as he polished off his sandwich. A shadow fell over him as he was finishing his coffee, and Poe almost spit it back into the cup.

Luke was looking down at him, his coat undone to reveal a sleek, black shirt. He had a hesitant smile on his face, and a cup in one hand.

“Ah… do you mind if I join you? There aren’t any free tables.” He said, and Poe nodded quickly, indicating the free chair. Luke was right; now that Poe was looking around, he realised the café was busy. Jess would want him back soon.

“You come here a lot,” Poe found himself saying, and then cringed. Luke wanted a seat, not to talk to some random idiot. “I’m Poe by the way. I just… I work in the coffee shop.” His mouth continued, without his permission. Luke was looking at him though, and there was that amazing, indulgent smile again.

“I’m Luke, nice to meet you Poe,” he said, and Poe felt his heart give a little lurch at the way Luke said his name. He bit his lip as Luke gave a small, self-deprecating laugh. “You’re right, I do come here a lot. It’s nicer than a lot of chain coffee places.”

“You don’t go and see the shows then?” Poe found himself asking, trying to ignore feeling of time slipping away from him. He couldn’t waste this moment though – Luke had given him his name, and now Luke knew his. It was… a nice feeling.

“Oh I do, frequently. Do you get to see them?” Now Luke had his full attention on Poe, he had that feeling again, like heat sliding down his back. It made Poe feel flustered, and he was finding it difficult to meet Luke’s intense gaze.

“Well, we get a discount. I don’t normally have time… not that I wouldn’t want to. Um, do you recommend anything?” he said, licking his lip.

“The Strike of the Empire is quite stunning, if you don’t mind a bit of tragedy.” Luke said, his eyes flicking upwards. “Ah, I believe there is a young woman trying to get your attention.” He said, giving Poe a mischievous smile. Poe almost groaned, looking up to see Jess waving frantically at him.

“That’s my cue to leave, I’m afraid. Thank you for the suggestion, Luke.” Poe said, feeling a thrill at being able to use his name.

“Thank you for the company, brief though it was,” Luke said, and the smile he gave Poe carried him effortlessly through the rest of his evening.


	2. This is your purgatory

“So how’s the new job going?” Finn asked, flopping himself down on the sofa.

“It’s going,” Poe shrugged, sitting down and promptly shoving Finn to give himself more room. BB used that opportunity to leap between them, stealing the warm patch. Rey took one look at their bemused expressions and laughed.

“I can’t believe you both fell for that _again,_ ” Rey said, placing some bowls of Doritos in front of them. Poe peered forward and noticed she’d added melted cheese, because she was the best.

“Are you suggesting that this cat is smarter than we are?” Finn said, his big hand already petting BB on the head.

“I mean it’s probably true, but look how cute she is, and her little face.” Poe said, puckering his lips until Rey snorted with laughter.

“How is he older than us?” Rey laughed, and Finn shrugged, sinking lower into the sofa.

Rey squeezed herself on the other side of Poe, putting him in the middle of what he liked to think of as the friendship sandwich. Rey and Finn were both very tactile people (which Poe blamed on their deprived childhoods) and he was always happy to oblige them. Spreading his arms on the back of the sofa, Poe felt BBs rumbling purr at his side, and couldn't agree more.

“Well my work is going great, thanks for asking,” Rey said, as Netflix loaded on the TV. 

“Sorry Rey, how is work going?” Finn said, giving her an apologetic grin. Rey didn't seem actually annoyed, giving them both a warm smile as she began to wax lyrical about her job. 

The film was something they had all seen before, and Poe laughed in all the right places, even though he was listening to Rey. She worked for an engineering firm called Rebel ltd, which had a lot of government contracts. 

“It's really something,” she was saying, as none of them were paying attention to the film anyway. “We've been given some new robotics to test out, like artificial limbs, and this one robot that you can give little tasks to.”

“Ah, the robots that will eventually steal all our jobs, then enslave us and take over the earth?” Finn said, licking Dorito cheese off his fingers.

“I, for one, am ready to accept our robot overlords,” Poe cut in, as Rey opened her mouth to retort. “I'm done with serving coffee. Robot baristas all the way.”

“No,” Rey said, rolling her eyes. “Well, they might take your job Poe, but there are still some things only humans can do.” 

“Like oil their robot overlords?” Poe said, stealing the Doritos from Finn. 

“Well yeah, that, and more nuanced, skilled work. I don’t think a robot would make a good police officer,” Rey said, nodding towards Finn, who was attempting to steal the Doritos back. He gave her a mock salute, grinning. “Plus we’d still need skilled people to actually build the robots who will make the coffee.”

Poe knew she wasn’t making a joke at his expense, but her words still irked him. “Yeah, well, I look forward to being obsolete because all I can do is make coffee,” he said, and then immediately regretted it.

“Poe, that’s not what I meant...” Rey looked like she was about to apologise, but Finn beat her to it.

“Maybe it's time to think about upskilling,” he said, looking pointedly at Poe. Shifting uncomfortably, Poe wished he’d kept his mouth shut.

“You could have those kinds of skills. You’re smart.” Rey said, worrying her lip. “You'd have really enjoyed my engineering course Poe, maybe… It's time to look into it again?”

Here we go, thought Poe, unable to look at the earnest expressions on his friend’s faces.

Conversations like this always made him feel uncomfortable. He was the supporter, the one who always gave advice; he'd been there for Rey when she studied mechanical engineering, and Finn as he'd completed all his psychology and sociology courses. He'd stayed up late with both of them when they were writing essays, and even helped write some of them. He'd cheered for Rey when she was offered a post straight out of Uni, and for Finn, when he finally began his police training. He was so proud of both of them, like they were his own family. 

But Poe couldn't stand it when they turned that attention back on him. 

“Well, I'll save some money and then we'll see.” Poe said. He shouldn’t have complained in the first place, giving them an excuse to home in on his issues. If he placated them, maybe the would drop it. The money thing was his standard excuse - even as the tuition fees climbed higher and higher, further out of his reach. 

“It's not as expensive as you think, you know. I bet you could get support, and the loans are really good,” Rey said, her eyes bright.

“Worse comes to worst, you could always sleep on my floor,” Finn added, squeezing Poe’s arm. He didn't need to add ‘like I once slept on yours’. 

“Thanks buddy,” Poe said, and BB lifted her head, looking expectantly between them. Poe reached out and began scratching her ears, so he could look somewhere else for a moment. “I'll get there, I just need to… work for a bit, see how that plays out.”

It was obvious his job wouldn't take him anywhere, especially if Rey’s robotics were a thing of the future, but he really needed them to drop this conversation. Finally, Rey seemed to take the hint and offered to crack open the wine, which they all agreed was an excellent idea.

It was only later, when Poe was feeling slightly buzzed from the wine, the he scrolled to his da’s number on his phone. It was a new number, because he lived with his girlfriend now. Poe looked at it for several minutes, before putting his phone down with a sigh.

Do something for yourself now. That's what his da had said to him, when he'd finally left. 

Drink didn't normally make Poe feel so maudlin, but the earlier conversation was still playing in his mind. Last time he'd managed to save up the money, things hadn't exactly gone to plan. It had been a dark time for him and da, but some good had come of it. Da was better now, he had a girlfriend who cared for him, and Poe had met his two best friends. 

He would do anything for them; he just wasn't sure he was ready for them to return the favour.

-

“We're gonna sample the bar tonight, you in?” 

Poe looked up from restocking the fridge, raising an amused eyebrow. “Oh, who's we then?”

“Snap is coming, and some of his steward friends. You and I obviously, because we're the life and soul of the party,” Jess said, waggling her eyebrows until he laughed.

“God, when you say it like that... I'll come,” he said, because Jess knew it was easier to trap him at the last minute, rather than plan ahead. Poe was a last minute kind of guy. 

“Excellent! I know just the frilly, pink, overpriced cocktail you're going to buy me.” Jess said. She not so subtly slid out her phone and began to text, something they weren’t supposed to do on shift. Though they had very few customers right now, so Poe knew she'd get away with it.

“I knew you were just using me for my money and my hot body. Why does nobody love me for me?” Poe groaned, and Jess laughed at his pain.

“Mate, over half the people here would climb you like a tree, if you weren't so hung up over what's-his-face,” Jess said, and Poe really wished she would stop making him blush like a teen.

“Who's what's-his-face?” Snap said, appearing with a crate of sandwiches, like a badly timed stage entrance. Poe suppressed another groan, taking a deep breath to keep himself from throttling Jess.

“Just some hot, older guy that Poe is pining for,” Jess said. Poe silently wished he had laser eyes; so his glare would finally shut her up.

“Kinky,” Snap said, grinning as he elbowed his way behind the counter.

“I don't even know why I hang around with you people,” Poe said, abandoning the fridge in favour of making himself a strong, black coffee.

“You have no choice, this is your purgatory,” Jess cackled, and Poe shook his head in dismay. 

They were all arseholes, but then Poe was as well. It made working with them entertaining, if nothing else. 

Jess had suggested they try out the theatre bar for a while now, which was in a completely different part of the building. Unlike the coffee area, the bar was dark and moody, with circles of large chairs. There were even hanging beads, to add to the atmosphere. 

They didn't interact with the bar staff much, but Jess had infiltrated their ranks enough to secure some good prices on booze. Some deal had been cut over free coffee, which Poe thought the less he knew about, the better.

They all filed over after the coffee shop closed, and Poe was thankful he’d worn a t-shirt under his uniform. It gave him something normal to wear, so he felt less like he was still at work. 

It was a weeknight, so the bar wasn't very busy; Snap had finished before them and had already commandeered a sofa and some chairs, all of which were dark and velvety. 

“Very nice,” Poe said, sinking into a seat with a sigh. Making coffee shouldn't be so tiring, but Poe was on his feet all day. It wasn't going to take much to get him shit faced; Poe thought now would be a good time to exercise some restraint.

That idea quickly went out the window.

“Never have I ever… done anal,” Jess slurred, and everyone groaned.

“Why does this game always descend into gross, too much information land?” Poe said, as he took a swallow of his drink. Noticing Snap do the same, everyone turned to stare.

“Hey, she didn't specify giving or receiving.” He said, looking far too amused. “You're all so vanilla. Apart from my boy Poe here,” Snap wrapped an arm around Poe, pulling him into a sloppy half hug. 

“Right, now I know far too much about all your sex lives, let's play a different game.” Poe said, untangling himself from Snap’s octopus arms. Game suggestions flew around, but eventually most people just went back to chatting. It was quite a good way to wind down after a long day, Poe decided. He’d never met some of these people before, and they were funny, if a little wacky. That’s probably why Jess liked them. 

Jess was still trying to convince Poe and Snap to try some absurd drinking challenge with her, when Poe felt a fissure of heat slide down his neck.

Head snapping up, Poe glanced around the hazy room, wondering if he was just imagining things. 

It was a bit more crowded now, with people lining the bar. A man with a long, black coat was ordering a drink, an umbrella tucked under his arm. Even before his head turned, Poe felt his heart hammer against his chest. 

Light from the bar glinted off Luke’s sandy hair, highlighting the peppered grey. He was smiling at the barmaid, saying a few words to her, before his eyes began to scan the room. 

Poe felt like his limbs were electrified with anticipation, and he both wanted Luke to see him and not.

“Poe, are you listening to me?” Jess said, catching his attention.

“What? Yes, no, sorry I was… Shit.” Poe said, looking back frantically; Luke had vanished out of sight. 

Poe felt his stomach drop. Palms sweating, he didn't know what to do - Luke would probably think he was a psycho stalker if he went after him, but he desperately wanted a chance to speak to him again. 

He'd never felt like this before. He hardly knew that man, having only spoken to him a handful of times. Whenever he saw Luke, he could barely keep it together, like his high brain functions just up and left him to it. Even when he wasn’t at work, Poe would catch himself thinking about Luke, wondering about him. He couldn’t get him out of his head. 

That thought made him pull himself together a little. Poe had been out with people, had crushes, but none as intense as this. It was bordering on obsession, and the last thing he wanted was for Luke to think he was nutty. 

Sighing, he turned his attention back to Jess.

“Sorry, I saw… You know, what's-his-face.” He said, and Jess boggled at him. 

“What the fuck are you sitting here for then?” Jess said, looking scarily excited. “Get your bum over there and drunk flirt with him.”

“Jess no, that's a bad idea,” Poe started to say, but Jess was getting up, and dear god he was not nearly drunk enough for this. “Snap, Snap, stop her please,” 

“Oh boy,” was all Snap said, the unhelpful bastard, and Poe was forced to get up after her. Clumsily grabbing her arm, Poe tried not to fall over as they stumbled out of their seating area.

“Jess, I'm being serious, please stop.” Poe said, a note of desperation in his voice. “He’ll definitely think I'm a creepy weirdo if I go over there.”

“Calm down,” Jess said, looking around but thankfully heading for the bar. Neither of them could see Luke in the small crowd, which Poe found both disappointing and a relief. 

“You're going to stand by the bar here and look pretty,” Jess carried on, ushering him into position. “And when he gets his next drink, you're going to charm his pants off, okay?”

Poe looked at her dubiously, but did as he was told. His limbs felt unsteady and uncoordinated, but he managed to prop himself against the bar as Jess ordered them both a drink. 

As far as plans went, it wasn't a bad one, but anxiety still churned in Poe's stomach. He'd never managed to pick up people at bars or clubs before; not anyone he'd actually want to sleep with anyway. He wanted more than just a random fuck. 

Luke probably didn’t think about him at all. To him, Poe was just some guy who worked in his favourite coffee shop. He felt like a piece of furniture when he was working, and even though Jess insisted he was a terrible flirt, he doubted any of his customers remembered him. He was just a barista. Thoughts about Rey’s robot baristas flooded to the forefront of his mind, and Poe shook his head to clear his random thoughts.

No, Luke was intensely hot, but probably just thought Poe was a nice young man. Someone to humour. Not someone to take home.

Doubts continued to flood his mind as Jess kept up the chatter. Poe wasn’t really focusing on what she was saying, and he felt bad, but Luke’s appearance had completely thrown him. They stood there for what felt like ages, until eventually Poe couldn't take it anymore.

“Jess, I'm pretty sure he's left,” Poe said, a lead weight of disappointment settling in his stomach. The bar had begun to empty for the night, and Poe could see across the whole space - Luke wasn't sitting anywhere. He'd just vanished like smoke, after Poe had first caught sight of him.

“Poe, buddy, I'm sorry,” Jess said, awkwardly patting his arm. She looked comically sad on his behalf, and Poe had to smile. Drunk Jess was a great friend to have around, but he wasn’t interested in pity.

“Hey, don't worry about it, okay? I had a good time tonight,” he said, which was mostly true. “If it was meant to be, he'd have come up to the bar, right?”

“Sure, sure,” Jess said, although she still looked crushed. “What a wanker though, you deserve better.” 

Poe was about to argue that Luke didn’t actually owe him anything, but Jess was already turning away. Her expression cleared as the others came to wish them goodnight, and Poe decided that was a good enough time to make his escape.

-

It was a cold night, the street slick and glittering with recent rain. It was still lightly misting from the sky, and Poe could feel the moisture gathering on his face and hair. Stumbling out the back of the theatre, he headed towards the underpass, hoping to get out of the damp. 

His vision felt narrow and fuzzy, his steps heavy with drunkenness. The underpass was lit with garish, fluorescent lights, with passages heading off in different directions. Muzzily, Poe looked at the signs, pointing himself in the direction of the tube station. He walked carefully down the slippery steps, his thoughts turning in slow circles.

He wasn’t sure what he would have done, if Luke had approached him. He began to imagine the conversation in his mind, Luke’s smile disarming him, but it made something churn in his stomach. Even in his own imagination, he knew he’d be too embarrassed to proposition the man.

Footsteps sounded behind him, and Poe’s heartbeat made a sluggish jump when someone brushed past his arm. Without warning, he was pushed, and Poe staggered painfully into the wall. Laughter echoed around the narrow passage.

“Ow, what the fuck,” Poe grunted, catching himself before he fell.

“Look at this fucking idiot, drunk off his arse,” the man said, his haggard face swimming in Poe’s vision. 

Another man came up beside him, and Poe found himself boxed against the wall. His breath coming out in harsh pants as the two men crowded him.

“Gimme your phone,” one of the men growled, stepping aggressively into Poe’s space. “Fucking hurry up, or I’ll gut you,” Poe’s hands flapped uselessly as the man flicked open a small knife, causing fear to liquify in his veins. 

“What? It’s a piece of shit,” Poe heard himself say, his vision blurring.

“Jesus Gazza, put the fucking knife away,” the other man said, but Poe could barely hear him over the rushing in his ears. He felt his phone slip into his hand, another protest forming on his lips, but it died with the shaking that overtook his body. 

“Step away from that young man,” a voice carried across the tunnel, and all three men jerked towards it. 

“Fuck off old man,” Gazza snarled, as his companion grabbed his jacket.

“Come on Gazza, it’s not worth it, let’s go.” he said, tugging the other man away.

“You should listen to your friend,” Luke said, his voice smooth and confident. Poe collapsed back against the wall, a hysterical sound catching in his throat. 

Luke looked like something from a spy film, his black coat glistening with moisture, his umbrella hooked over his arm. His expression was placid - but his clear eyes burned.

Gazza made an almost animalistic noise, jerking as if he was thinking about going for Luke. Poe barely saw him move - one moment Luke was standing across from both men, and in the next moment he was upon them. Knocking the knife from Gazza’s hand, Luke sent him to the floor with a flick of his wrist.

The other man swore and struck out; Luke deflected his punch and smoothly guided him to sprawl on the floor. 

It was graceful; elegant; and had utterly stunned both attackers. 

“Quickly now,” Luke said, wrapping a firm hand around Poe’s arm and leading him away. “They’ll recover shortly, and we don’t want to be here for that.”

“Oh… fuck,” was all Poe could manage, still shaking as Luke led him out of the underpass. He took great gulps of air as soon as they were outside, and Luke let go of his arm to rub his back. “Shit, what the f-fuck just happened.”

Adrenaline and leftover alcohol were still wreaking havoc on Poe, and he felt tears fill his eyes as the reality of the situation slammed home. Some guys had just tried to mug him with a knife, and Luke had just… taken them out.

“Poe,” Luke said, Poe found himself looking into intense blue eyes, a pair of strong hands holding his shoulders. “You’re alright. It’s over now. I want you to take a few deep breaths,” he said, and Poe did, drawing in air and letting it out shakily. “That’s good. You’re okay, I promise. Tell me where you live, and I’ll take you home.”

“I… Lewisham.” Poe managed, feeling like his knees were about to give out. Luke gave him a soft, reassuring smile, rubbing Poe’s arms as he told him the rest of the address. Poe let himself be led to the road, where Luke flagged down a black cab of all things, and bundled them both into the back.

“Put your head between your knees, and keep taking deep breaths,” Luke said, after directing the cab driver. Poe felt Luke’s hands gently move him into position, his palm sliding over Poe’s back. He continued to rub soothing circles, until Poe felt like he could breath without crying, or hyperventilating. 

The cab ride must have taken some time, but Poe was so out of it he couldn’t have said how long. By the time they began to pull up, he felt able to breath again.

“T-thank you,” Poe managed, sitting up as Luke handed over an obscene amount of money to the cab driver. Poe wanted to protest, but Luke was already manhandling him out of the taxi, his touch sure and confident. 

Now he’d calmed down some, Poe had to fight against his really inappropriate reaction to that.

“How are you feeling?” Luke said, taking Poe’s shoulders again. 

They were standing in the entrance to Poe’s rented house; amongst the cracked flowerpots and chipping paint of his poarch. Poe wanted to say he was okay, but his hands were still shaking, making him almost drop his keys. Luke took them with a small smile, guiding Poe towards the door.

“Come on, let's get you inside. You’re still in shock.”

Poe felt like his senses had left him floating somewhere in the stratosphere. Not that long ago he’s been considering how he could talk to Luke. Now, he found himself sitting in his own kitchen, Luke Skywalker making him a cup of tea, the clock on the wall declaring it was past 1am. 

It was beyond surreal. To top it all, Luke turned out to be some kind of ninja. Deliriously, Poe began to think about batman, wondering if should ask Luke if he knew Liam Neeson. 

He was so out of it, he didn’t protest when Luke pushed the tea into his hand. He did, however, grimaced at the first sip - it had sugar in it.

“I hate tea,” he said, with feeling. Luke looked a little stunned, then began to laugh, shaking quietly as he poured his own tea.

“Well, drink up. The sugar will help.”

“This is honestly the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me,” Poe said, as Luke continued to giggle to himself. It was not the kind of laugh he would have expected, and Poe felt fondness blossom in his chest.

Luke was still wearing his coat and gloves, and Poe boggled at the sight of him in his small, untidy kitchen. “I mean… thank you, again. How… where did you learn to do that?”

Luke walked slowly over to the table with his own tea, coming to sit across from Poe. He seemed to be considering his answer, taking a drink before he spoke.

“It’s my own special brand of martial arts,” Luke said, setting his cup down and raising his eyes to meet Poe’s. “I don’t use it very often outside my studio.”

“Studio?” Poe asked, burning with curiosity. “Like a dojo or something? Do you teach people?”

“I used to,” Luke said, a sad smile crossing his face. “I’m retired now, save for occasionally assisting young people in peril.” he said, eyes twinkling. 

Poe had to look away - the look on Luke’s face sent an intense wave of heat rushing down his spine, making his face warm. It took him a moment to raise his eyes again and look at Luke, who was watching him curiously.

“Um, well, I’m not that young,” Poe said, laughing nervously. “But thank you, again. I mean, you didn’t have to put yourself in danger for my sake. But… I’m glad you did,” Poe said, feeling like his face must have been the colour of a tomato by now. He also wanted to thank Luke for remembering his name, but that was probably pushing it a bit far.

Luke was giving him that warm, indulgent smile that made his cheeks dimple, lines appearing around his eyes. Poe felt his heart stammer against his ribs. 

They both looked at each other for a long moment, the clock the only sound in the room, as something crackled in the air.

“I saw you in the bar,” Poe found himself saying, his mouth going dry.

“I know,” Luke said, his voice soft and quiet. He looked like he wanted to add more, and Poe felt his heart leap into his throat. Finally though, Luke looked away. Pushing the tea aside, he made to stand, and Poe grappled for something to say.

“Could you teach me?” he blurted, and Luke blinked slowly at him. “I mean… your… special martial arts, or whatever it is.” 

“Perhaps,” Luke said, a small smile tugging at his lips again. “I am retired though. My teachings are… not for everyone.” 

“I’m a fast learner. And I’d… like to be able to defend myself.” Poe said, standing and following Luke to the door. He also wanted… he just wanted, and Luke being in his house was not helping him any. Everything about tonight felt like a surreal dream, but Poe could still feel that strange, electric current between them. He was loath to let it end.

“I’ll think about it,” Luke said, and Poe realised that they’d stepped into each other’s space, just at the threshold of the door.

“I…” Poe started, “Should I give you my phone number?”

“I know where to find you,” was all Luke said, and for a brief, glorious moment, Poe thought they were going to kiss.

“Goodnight Poe,” Luke said, his gloved hand touching Poe’s wrist. “Stay safe.” 

Poe shivered as Luke walked into the night, not opening his umbrella, despite the soft rain coming down. Slumping against the frame of the door, Poe felt like a puppet with cut strings.

It was going to take him a long time to go to sleep tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic has possesed me. I wrote most of this on the train, and I'm pretty sure the guy standing behind me read it over my shoulder. Hope you enjoyed it mate!
> 
> I'm hoping to update at the weekends. Wish me luck <3


	3. His name is Luke Skywalker?

“Rey, can I talk to you for a second?” 

Poe knew he looked terrible; he could see it in Rey’s face as she walked into the kitchen. He felt like he hadn’t left this exact spot, even though he’d managed to crawl into bed in the early hours of the morning, sleeping fitfully. His mind had churned all night, replying everything until he was sick of listening to his own thoughts.

It wasn’t often Poe admitted defeat. He’d always been self reliant, but this thing with Luke, whatever it was, had spiraled very suddenly out of his control. Part of the reason he’d laid awake most of the night was because he felt bad for keeping it to himself - he hadn’t mentioned anything at all about Luke to Rey or Finn, for no real reason. He needed to say something now, and make up for lost time.

“Poe, are you okay? You look really tired.” Rey said, getting a breakfast bar out of the cupboard. She was looking at him with concern, nodding at his question. “Of course you can talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“I had a pretty shit night,” Poe said, scrubbing a hand over his face. He hadn’t shaved yet, and his stubble already felt rough under his palms. 

He knew that Rey was heading out to work soon, so he was grateful when she came and sat across from him. It was in the same spot Luke had occupied the night before, Poe couldn’t help noticing. 

“Tell me about it,” Rey said, her expression open and earnest. 

“I don’t even know where to start.” Poe said, his hands still on his face. Get the important stuff out of the way, he thought, taking a deep breath. “I… some guys tried to mug me last night.”

“What? Oh god, are you sure you're okay?” Rey said, her eyes widening in alarm. “Should we call Finn?”

“No, don't bother Finn.” Poe said quickly, feeling bad about the panicked look he’d put on Rey’s face. “Not yet anyway,” he added, biting his lip.

He would tell Finn, of course he would, but Finn would want him to write up a report. Poe wasn't entirely sure that Luke's approach to justice was  _ technically _ legal, and the last thing he wanted was for Luke to get into trouble with the law.

Rey looked like she was about to argue, but Poe rushed to reassure her. “I’m okay, really.” he said, rubbing his tired eyes. “They didn’t hurt me, or take anything. I was uh… rescued.”

“Rescued?” Rey said, leaning forward slightly. “Not by the police though?”

“No, there’s this guy…” Poe began, wondering how he could explain Luke. “He comes into the coffee shop all the time. He’s like, maybe ten, fifteen years older than me? We talk sometimes,” that was a bit of an exaggeration, but Poe believed they’d had some nice little chats, and that was important to him. “Anyway, he just… showed up whilst these guys were on me. Shit, Rey, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“What happened?” Rey said, a curious furrow in her brow.

“Jesus Rey, I don’t even know. One minute I think I’m about to get shanked, and then Luke just… knocked the knife out of this guy’s hand. He barely touched them, and they were on the ground.”

“What?” Rey said, giving him a dubious look. “How did he do that?”

Poe shrugged helplessly, wishing he could explain it better. But how did you explain something you didn’t even understand yourself? Luke hadn’t even tensed up, he’d just touched his fingertips to their wrists and flipped them effortlessly to the ground. It was like something from a Jet Li film, only about a hundred times more awesome. 

“I can’t even explain it Rey, he was like a ninja,” Poe said, feeling his face grow hot. “He brought me back here, paid for a black cab and everything.”

Rey’s eyebrows shot up, her expression clearing as she realised something. “Oooh, I thought I heard voices last night,” she said, nodding to herself.

“Sorry if we woke you,” Poe cringed, feeling bad.

“No, it's okay,” Rey said, brushing off his apology. “I don’t really know what to say,” she gave a soft laugh, and Poe could sympathise. He was still puzzled himself. “I can see why you might want to wait to tell Finn. He’s going to want to know everything about this guy.”

Poe groaned a little at that, running a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, I thought he might.” he said, sighing helplessly. “I will tell him, I just don’t want Luke to get into trouble. He really saved me Rey, I mean… I’m really terrible at explaining it, but he was amazing.”

Rey began to eat her cereal bar and pottered around making herbal tea, as Poe continued to try and describe what had happened. Rey was an excellent listener, but Poe often forgot that she was also very sharp. As he spoke, something in his expression must have given him away, because Rey was suddenly leaning against the wooden counter and giving him a knowing look, and Poe felt heat spread across his cheeks.

“Poe,” she said, her expression sly. “Do you… fancy him?”

“Rey, I’m not 12.” Poe protested, but his flush definitely gave him away.

“That’s not an answer,” Rey pointed out, looking smug as she filled her chipped mug with water from the kettle. “You said he comes into your work all the time, so,” Rey said, and Poe reminded himself, yet again, that her astuteness was never to be underestimated. “What’s going on between you and him?”

“Well, nothing really,” Poe said, and then relented at the look she gave him over her shoulder. “Okay, alright, I ‘fancy’ him,” he said, making air quotes. “Although if I didn’t already, I definitely would seeing him go all Kung Fu master on those two twats last night.”

“Do you think he likes you?” Rey said, cutting to the chase as always.

Poe just blew out a breath, playing with the salt shaker on the table (which actually had sugar in it, but that was besides the point). He couldn’t say for certain, not now that some time had passed, but he’d thought he’d felt some kind of mutual connection between them last night. He hoped he wasn’t just projecting his own feelings, but Luke had seemed… like he’d wanted to say more, or perhaps stay, but had stopped himself for some reason. 

Looking around the kitchen, Poe felt he hadn’t really given the best impression last night. The tables and chairs were all second hand and mismatched, and everything in the kitchen was either peeling or chipped. Luke probably thought he was a student - he’d made a couple of comments about Poe being young, and the state of their small, rented house didn’t really reflect his age.

He could try and convince Luke that he wasn’t actually an immature, penniless student, but that required that he actually manage to talk to the man again.

“I honestly don’t know,” Poe said at last, scratching his stubble. “Last night was the longest conversation we’ve ever had.”

Rey nodded thoughtfully, her brow still furrowed. When she was thinking through a problem, she tended to go very quiet, which Poe was used to. He let her think it over, feeling something lighten in his chest. It was good to talk about it; he felt terrible about keeping it from her for so long, even though he should have known she would listen to him and offer support.

“I think he likes you,” Rey finally said, giving him a small smile over her mug. “I mean, he might also be a very concerned citizen, but he could easily have helped you by calling the police instead. You can get into a lot of trouble for getting physical…”

“Yeah, I know,” Poe said, worrying his lip. “I would like to get to know him better, if I can.”

Rey gave him a fond look, reaching down to pat his hand. “Poe, I’m sure it’ll work out. You know, it’s been a long while since I’ve seen you like this. You’ve been more upbeat recently.”

Poe shrugged, looking down as Rey continued to give him that fond look. She saw through his bullshit even better than Finn did, which is why they lived together - Finn would never bully him to clean the dishes the way Rey did.

“Well, apart from last night,” he said, then felt like an idiot for making Rey frown.

“Was it really that bad?” She said, looking like she already knew the answer. Poe grimaced.

“I'd like to say I was just about to give them a taste of their own medicine when he showed up, but that would be a lie,” he said, his face paling as he remembered how helpless he'd felt. 

“Poe… We should definitely tell Finn,” Rey looked worried again, and Poe resigned himself. He'd never tell Rey something he wouldn't tell Finn, even though he knew Finn would likely frogmarch him straight down to the local station to make a statement. 

“I know, I'll catch him later,” Poe said, “I just don't want Luke to get into trouble.”

“Well, you said all he did was put them on the ground, right?” Rey said, shrugging. “You could just say you don't know him, that's not completely a lie. Mysterious Luke, no last name.”

“I do know his last name actually. It’s Skywalker.” Poe said, wondering now if that was even his real name. He was beginning to suspect Luke might actually be some kind of secret agent.

Rey was silent for a moment, and when Poe looked up, she was giving him an odd look, making him straighten.

“What?”

“Skywalker,” Rey said, her brows furrowing. “His name is Luke Skywalker?”

“Yes,” Poe said slowly, his heart rate picking up. “Don’t tell me you know him.” 

Rey shook her head, but she still looked thoughtful “No, but the name rings a bell. I think I've heard it before…” Chewing her lip, Rey reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, typing with her thumb.

“Where?” Poe said, peering up to try and see her screen. “At work maybe?”

“Hm, that's what I was thinking, yeah.” Rey said, studying her phone. “Hmm, nothing on google…”

“Maybe he doesn’t like computers?” Poe said, biting his lip.

“I could always search his name in the database, see what comes up?” Rey suggested, slipping her phone back into her pocket.

“Do you think he works for your company?” Poe said. He wasn't sure how he felt about checking up on Luke like this. It gave him the same feeling he’d had at the bar last night, his skin prickling with embarrassment, the idea of invading someone’s privacy making him balk. Although, Luke didn’t look like the kind of person who worked in robotics, but then what did he know?

“Or he could work for one of our clients. Maybe he works in the government? Like… MI5.” Rey said, a mischievous grin spreading across her face.

“Uh, maybe you shouldn't look him up then,” Poe said, putting a hand on his face as Rey giggled at him. 

“I don't think we have any contracts with MI5 anyway,” Rey said, consideringly. “Well, not that I know about.”

“Rey, please don't get arrested for treason. This isn't a good time of year for me to find a new flatmate.” Poe dodged the breakfast bar wrapper she hurled at him, grinning. “But seriously, maybe you shouldn't,” Poe said, his grin fading. 

“You don't want to know if I can find anything out?” Rey looked nonplussed, as if that thought hadn't occurred to her.

“Well yes, but I don't want to invade his privacy. I'd feel a bit…stalkery.”

Rey pursed her lips, considering.

“You have a point. But you've got his full name - I couldn’t find him on google, but maybe you could still look him up on Facebook,” Rey suggested. “Stalk him in the socially acceptable way.”

“What, and he'll have a Facebook group called ‘secret ninja school of London’? Sure.”

Rey laughed, shrugging helplessly. “It's just a suggestion. Come on, it's almost Saturday. Take the day off work and get some rest, then we'll tell Finn all about your adventures tomorrow.”

Sighing, Poe rested his forehead on the table and Rey laughed softly at him. He could take the day off work, but he could also really do with the money. Patting him on the shoulder, Rey began to clean up her mug and get ready for her own work, all the while chatting away to keep Poe distracted.

He appreciated it more than he could say. Rey was an excellent friend, better than he deserved, and she even offered to make him coffee before he dragged himself back up to bed. He badly needed sleep, especially if he was going to work this evening, but it wasn’t that easy to switch his brain off.

Dozing for most of the day, Poe’s mind continued to cycle through useless thoughts, keeping him from fully falling asleep. It was around midday that the shock began to wear off, to be replaced by another feeling.

Poe had never been so mad at himself. Fully awake now, he lay on his bed and glared at the ceiling, strewing over his annoyance. It centered around one thing in particular - there were so many things he could have done last night, and yet he'd frozen like an idiot and let those losers intimidate him. 

Imagining all the ways he could have lashed out didn't really help. Poe wasn't a violent kind of guy - although his imagination happily supplied him with technicolor images of punching both guys out, before Luke arrived to finish them off. He pictured landing hit after hit, lashing out with his hands and feet; he imagined many witty rejoinders he could have thrown at them, until frustration built and fizzed inside him. 

He knew he couldn’t stay in bed all day, but getting up was easier said than done. His curtains kept out absolutely no light, so Poe couldn’t sleep much more at any rate. Instead he was forced to stare at the paisley wallpaper that he’d never bothered to paint over, covered with haphazard movie posters and some random photographs Rey had given him. 

Poe knew he had to shower at some point, to make himself feel more human, at least. Even with the spring in his mattress digging into his back, it still took a great effort to get out of bed and go to the bathroom. 

Slapping the light switch harder than necessary, Poe made an annoyed huff as he began pulling his clothes off.

He just hated feeling so helpless. Granted, he had been so drunk he could barely see straight, but that just made him feel more like a tool. There had been a time when he wouldn't have stood for any nonsense, but the intervening years seemed to have drained all his bravado.

Climbing into the ugly turquoise bath, Poe yanked the curtain closed and turned the shower to full blast, jerking as the cool water slammed into him. It quickly turned scalding hot, but Poe just pressed his hands against the tiles as he let it beat down on his shoulders.

It felt good to purge himself with the hot spray, but Poe's mind wouldn't let him relax. He realised he was clenching his jaw, and he had to force himself to relax it, taking a deep breath. 

There had been a time when he'd stood up for himself despite his fear. He'd been 23 when gang members had come down to the community centre and demanded to know where Finn was. Poe had straight up told them to fuck off - Finn wasn't around, nor was he interested in running errands for Stormy - despite knowing they would probably Molotov cocktail the whole place to the ground. 

The police had been excellent, and Poe still remembered Finn’s star struck expression as the officers had told him what a brave young man he was. It had been a bright, shining moment amongst some pretty dark times. Mentoring Finn and Rey at the community centre had been one of the only things getting him out of bed in the morning, at one point.

Poe hadn't thought about that moment in a long time. At 23 he'd have laid his life on the line to save his friend, but last night he'd lost his shit completely. A red flush spread across Poe's cheeks, and tears pricked at his eyes - it was shameful, more than anything, to realise he'd lost so much confidence in all those intervening years of self pity.

Wiping quickly at his face, Poe let out a breath. Bloody hell, he thought. Get a grip on yourself. Ducking his head under the spray, Poe ran his hands quickly through his hair, as he tried to push his thoughts aside. Knowing he wouldn’t get anywhere feeling angry and sorry for himself, he tried to think about what he would say to Luke, the next time he saw him. 

Thinking about Luke brought up another, visceral memory from last night. He’d been so spaced out at the time, Poe had hardly been aware of it - but Luke had stroked his back, and held him with hands that were surprisingly strong, guiding him with a solid confidence. 

Poe couldn’t suppress his shudder, arousal slamming into him like a freight train.

He bit back a groan. Luke had handled him with absolute surety, and Poe had never considered that that would be such a turn on; he could still feel the ghosts of Luke’s hand’s, running smoothly up his back and across his sides. He imagined Luke’s hand reaching around him from behind, just as his own hand reached down, Poe’s breath leaving him in short pants. 

A crash sounded, and Poe almost jumped out of his skin, yelping in surprise.

“What the fuck!” he gasped, almost pulling the shower curtain down as he flailed. Tugging it aside, he scanned the bathroom, noticing the door was ajar and several of Rey’s bottles were on the floor. A pair of luminous eyes watched him from the sink, looking as surprised as Poe felt.

“BB, what the hell?” Poe demanded, before he began to laugh, a slightly hysterical sound escaping him. “Oh my god cat, you have  _ literally _ the worst timing.” 

There was no way in hell he was going to wank in front of the cat, his interest already dwindling, so Poe shut the shower off and began to climb out of the bath. BB made an attempt to jump up onto his shoulder, and Poe hissed as little claws sank into his skin.

“Oh, no way buddy, that’s not happening.” he said, grabbing BB around the waist and dropping her on the floor. She made a yowl of protest, and Poe had to laugh again. He’d never heard a cat so put out.

“You are in so much trouble,” he said, even though he was smiling at BB. She was circling around his ankles, making her displeasure known rather vocally. Sighing, Poe wondered if he could call in sick just to spend the evening wallowing in his own sexual frustration. 

His reflection above the sink definitely agreed - his facial hair grew at alarming speeds when he didn’t shave, and the shadow on his jaw was already well past 5 o’clock, his hair in thick, damp curls, slicked to his forehead. 

“I’m going for hot mess, what do you think BB?” he said, running the pads of his fingers over the deep bags under his eyes.

BB meowed, which was probably cat for ‘shave the effing beard’. Reaching for his razor, Poe silently agreed. 

-

Poe did end up going to work that evening; the walk along the river allowed him to ruminate on his thoughts and ground himself a little. Winter was arriving, which meant darkness was beginning to descend, turning the sky deep blues and pinks. That suited Poe’s mood perfectly; a dull cloud of annoyance and tiredness hovering over him. 

Hands deep in his pockets, Poe stood outside the theatre and gave himself one last moment alone. People with regular jobs were just leaving work, hurrying towards the stations in long, thick coats. From here, Poe could see a spectacular view of the grand buildings all jutting out onto the Themes; between the soaring, white metal of the Hungerford bridge, and the sleek glass of Blackfriars bridge in the distance. 

Overground trains were rumbling on the bridge, accompanied by a low, electric hum and the whine of wheels on metal. The sights and sounds of London ebbed around him, and despite his mood, Poe felt better for having stood a moment in the twilight.

Turning and heading inside, Poe went straight to his locker and slide his uniform on. He was calmer and less agitated now, but he still didn’t really feel like mentioning what had happened the night before.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like his colleagues. He would even go as far as to call Jess his friend; but he didn’t want to explain it all again and have all those feeling resurface, as he relived the experience in excruciating detail.

Maybe that made him a poor friend, but Poe really needed to be distracted from his own mind. Annoyance still simmered under the surface of his thoughts, along with aborted arousal, whenever his mind wondered to Luke. He wasn’t sure how he was going to look him in the eye again - Poe still felt a little ashamed for having to be rescued, but that wasn’t as bad as the guilt he felt, after almost beating one off whilst thinking  _ about _ being rescued. There was something wrong with him, for sure.

Even though he didn’t mention his terrible night, Jess could obviously tell something was bothering him. For once, she didn’t pick at him about it. Poe was grateful, and privately conceded that she was a bit more sensitive than he’d given her credit for, when they’d first met. Either that or she was feeling sorry for him about not picking up anyone at the bar last night.

“So Kala says we can get some seats if they don’t sell,” she said, and Poe looked up, belatedly realising she was talking to him.

“Huh?” he said intelligently, as Jess smacked him on the arm. “Ow, what?”

“That didn’t even hurt, don’t be such a baby,” she said, and Poe made a face.

“Why are you abusing me?”

“Because you’re not paying attention to me, obviously,” Jess rolled her eyes, and Poe huffed out a laugh at her put on, self-centred behaviour.

“Go on then, I’m paying attention now you’ve broken my arm,” he said, rubbing his bicep for emphasis. “What about seats?”

“So we can go and see the Strike of the Empire,” Jess explained, ignoring Poe’s obvious pain as he clutched his arm. “Kala says that sometimes there are a couple of seats leftover some nights, especially because it’s run is coming to an end, so we could get a really good discount on them.”

“Oh, okay,” Poe said, failing to sound enthusiastic. He did want to see ‘Empire (especially as Luke had recommended it) but he was finding it difficult to summon up his usual energy this evening. He considered that coming into work might have been a mistake, but sitting at home moping would have been worse, so it was the lesser of two evils. 

“Well, if you want to go, I’ll get the tickets,” Jess said, narrowing her eyes at him. “Don’t sound so excited.” she added, and Poe ignored her in favour of seeing to a customer.

“Hey, what can I get you?” he said, plastering on a fake smile. 

A tall man with dark, wavy hair stood at the counter, his whole body decked out in art school black. He reminded Poe a little of an aristocrat from an old painting, with his long features and pale skin, his dark turtleneck starkly framing his face. Something about his stare made the back of Poe’s neck prickle - but not in a pleasant way.

Very few customers made eye contact with him. Usually their eyes would scan over the menu behind him, or look at the food displayed on the counter. This man was just staring at Poe, his unblinking eyes making Poe’s skin crawl.

“Just an espresso,” he said, and Poe noted the slight American twang to his accent. The man continued to stare, until Poe felt increasingly uncomfortable, his own eyes flicking away. It felt like looking away from a dangerous predator, and Poe’s neck prickled in alarm, goosebumps spreading across his skin. 

Thankfully, Jess made the espresso and handed it over in record time, allowing Poe focus on payment. The man dropped a couple of coins in his hand, exact change, and Poe felt like pins and needles were travelling up his arm. He shook it out as soon as the man turned away, letting out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding.

“Wow, he was creepy,” Jess said lowly, and Poe nodded in agreement. 

“Why do I always attract fucking weirdos?” Poe complained, letting the tension drain out of him.

“Your pretty face is like catnip, they can’t get enough,” Jess said, patting him gently this time. 

Thankfully the man must have left or gone to a performance, because Poe didn’t see him again. It was strange though, that Poe had felt such a distinct reaction to him. He pondered on it for a little while, but by the time he’d finished work, he’d forgotten all about it.

-

On Saturday, Rey and Poe met with Finn at the pub. Their favourite was Alderaan, which was actually called ‘Old Ron’, but no one inside was ever sober enough to call it that. It was dark and dingy, with very low ceiling and wooden paneling that had seen better days. Everything always seemed a little bit grimey or sticky, and the seats were all over stuffed leather chairs or stools with missing legs. No music played, and that made it a great place to actually hear what your friends were saying.

The three of them formed a hushed circle at the very back, going over the entire Mugging Incident as Finn peppered them with questions. It went better than expected - Finn was adamant that he make a report, but he also trusted Poe’s judgement on keeping Luke anonymous.

“It sounds pretty crazy,” Finn said, as he nursed his pint. “I’m not sure I believe it myself. You should probably tone down the ninja stuff in your statement.”

“Hey, I was drunk, but I wasn’t that drunk,” Poe protested, before emptying the last of his own pint. 

“Finn has a point though, you want to make it sound as legit as possible.” Rey said, pushing aside her empty glass. She gave Poe a hopeful look as he made to get up, causing him to sigh in irritation.

“Alright woman, I’ll get you a drink. You ready for another buddy?” he said, pointing to Finn’s half empty pint. 

“If you’re paying? Absolutely.” Finn grinned, tossing a handful of peanuts into his mouth. 

“I earn the least out of the pair of you, and yet I buy all the drinks. How is this fair…” Poe grumbled as he walked away, a smile spreading across his face as he heard Rey and Finn laughing. 

Something felt lighter inside him, as he ordered their next round of drinks. These two always had that effect on him, lifting him out of even the darkest moods. It was the best he’d felt since the Mugging Incident, and he couldn’t help smiling as he considered how lucky he was, that both of them stuck with him. 

Pressing the three pints together, Poe wrapped his hands around them and carried them back to the table, instantly noticing that Rey and Finn had moved very close together. They were speaking in hushed tones, and Rey had pulled some pieces of paper out of her bag.

“What’s that?” Poe asked, sliding the drinks onto the table. Rey hushed him, which made him raise an eyebrow, and she gestured for him to sit.

“So,” Rey began, her voice lowered so Poe had to lean forward to hear her over the grumbling of older locals around them. “I know you told me not to…”

“I'm not going to like where this is going, am I?” Poe said, pulling his stool closer to their alcove. Rey was normally very collected, but right now Poe could see she was practically vibrating with suppressed excitement. Finn had a strange expression on his face as well, looking between Rey and the papers in front of them.

“No, but I’m going to tell you anyway,” she said, smiling brightly. “I looked up our mysterious ninja friend on the database at work.”

“Reeeey,” Poe whined, spreading his hands in annoyance. “I can’t believe you,” he said, then amended that statement. “No, I can actually. I forgot you’re the nosiest person I know. I’m guessing you found something?” He felt like headbutting the table. So much for being grateful for his friends, Poe thought, sighing in resignation.

“Yeah, she really did,” Finn said, pushing the papers towards him.

It was a sketch on a piece of printer paper, and Poe thought it was some kind of metal spider, until he turned it around.

“Is that a hand?” he said, tilting his head as he studied it. It was a very good sketch, shaded so that it was clear it was made of metal. The hand was divided into sections, probably to make it articulated, but otherwise smooth and very life-like. There were some other sketches of what looked like circuits and joints, but Poe didn’t have enough knowledge of engineering to understand them.

“It is, but it’s more than that.” Rey said eagerly, pointing to the sketch. “It’s called the Skywalker project. I told you I’d heard the name before,” she said, smiling smugly as she explained. “I remembered the name because I looked at some of the circuit designs for another project I was working on.” She said in a rush. “But this is way, way more advanced than my work. You’re looking at one of the most sophisticated artificial limbs in existence.” 

“Huh,” Poe said, a strange feeling ticking over in his mind. “You think this has something to do with Luke?”

“Is Luke blond and in his mid-40s?” Rey said, and Poe nodded. “Then it’s his hand. There was a photograph attached to the file, of his most recent upgrade.”

“Wow, so he’s a ninja and a cyborg? That’s awesome,” Finn said, and Rey elbowed him in the side. 

“Oh! The gloves!” Poe said suddenly, his thoughts clicking into place. Both Rey and Finn looked at him, and Poe realised he’d actually said that out out loud. “Oh he uh… he always wears these black leather gloves. I’ve never seen him take them off.”

“I’m not surprised. This thing is probably really expensive.” Rey said, pulling the drawing towards her. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s made of an incredibly strong, light alloy. It even has ceramic parts, see here?” she said, her hands fanning over the picture. “And electrodes that go right into the nervous system. I just did this quick sketch at work, but the blueprints were, wow… just mind blowing.”

“Should we leave you two alone for a moment?” Finn said, grinning as he gestured to the drawing. He avoided her elbow this time, and Poe had to smile. Rey was such a nerd over robotics, it was cute to watch.

“Do you think he’s a test subject?” Poe said, studying the image. It was strange to think that Luke was hiding such an amazing piece of technology on his body. It made Poe wonder if it bothered him, to have this metal hand. Maybe that was why he wore the gloves? Poe wasn’t sure he’d want to deal with people staring at him all the time either.

“He could be. There was a huge case file attached to the documents I looked over. It looks like this is the most recent version of tons of trial versions. He must have lost his hand years ago.”

“For science,” Finn joked, waggling his eyebrows. This time Poe was the one to elbow him.

“Not funny buddy. He might have been born without it.” he said, resting his chin on his hand as he took the drawing again for a better look. It was like something from science fiction. Or a comic book.

Poe wasn’t sure how he felt, knowing this without Luke telling him himself. It was the same reason why he’d asked Rey not to look - not because he was afraid of what they’d find, but because he didn’t want to pry into places he might not necessarily be welcome. The robotic hand seemed innocent enough on the surface, but when Poe thought about Luke’s gloves, and how he never removed them, he knew there was much more to it than that.

“Thanks Rey, but… I don’t think we should mention this to anyone else.” Poe finally said, handing the drawing back so Rey could slip it into her bag. Finn shrugged, but Rey nodded in agreement.

“I won’t mention it to anyone. I mean, I wasn’t even allowed to print off any files about it at work, that’s why I did these sketches. It was the weirdest thing though…” Rey said, shaking her head as she trailed off.

“Oh, what was weird?” Poe said, his interest caught.

“Well, after I looked up the files, the boss stopped by my desk,” Rey said, a puzzled look on her face. “She’s never spoken to me before, but she asked if I was interested in artificial limb development. Like… like she knew I’d searched for it.”

“Hey, that’s possible,” Finn said, finishing off his peanuts. “If you’re using a networked computer, she probably has access to your search history.”

“Buddy, don’t pretend you know how computers work,” Poe said, grinning as Finn made a face at him.

“I know more than you do, coffee boy,” Finn said, flicking his last peanut at Poe, which he caught and popped into his mouth. 

“It was just a bit strange,” Rey said, ignoring their weird peanut exchange. “Because it was right after I did the search. Anyway, now you know.” She finished, smiling proudly, as if were a job well done.

Poe laughed. “Yeah, thanks for that. Now he’s even more mysterious than we thought.” he said, groaning. “What am I going to do?”

“Uh, ask him out?” Finn said, patting Poe on the back. “You’re a big boy now, I’m sure you’ll manage it.”

“Easier said than done,” Poe said, finally giving in to the urge to thunk his head on the table. Now he had even more reasons to avoid looking Luke in the eye, the next time he saw him. Why was life so hard?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for your really nice comments and kudos! I'm new to this fic writing lark, and it's really encouraging to know people have enjoyed this :D
> 
> My lovely friend cicak has beta'ed some of this chapter for me, and has suggested I spent more time lovingly describing London for you all. I hope, by the end of this fic, you will have some idea of what my favourite city is like XD
> 
> No Luke this chapter, or is he lurking somewhere? Hopefully we'll soon find out...


	4. You boys have fun

“We’re on! I’ve got the tickets.”

Poe looked up from cleaning the counter, as Jess waved something in his face. It took a moment for his tired brain to piece together what she was saying.

“Oh… for ‘Empire?” he said, straightening. 

“No, for a wild sex party,” Jess said, rolling her eyes as she continued to fan the tickets in his face. “Of course for ‘Empire, you muppet. Sometimes I wonder if you even listen to me.”

“Sorry, what was that?” Poe said, then grinned as she attempted to smack him with the tickets. “Alright, alright. When are we going?”

“Tonight. They only sell these leftover tickets on the day. You in?”

Poe didn’t really need to think about it - it was midweek, so Rey and Finn would be pretty tired after work. They didn’t usually hang out until Friday, so he was free. He reached out and plucked one of the tickets from Jess’ hand.

“Yep. How much do I owe you?” he asked, glancing down at the ticket. 

He knew some of the seating arrangements from a couple of stewarding shifts he’d covered, and he could see they were only a few rows from the front. It was a good seat - they’d be far enough away that wouldn’t have to crane their necks to look up at the stage, but close enough to be right in the action. 

“Your soul,” Jess said, cackling, just as the manager walked past. Both of them got hastily back to work, cleaning up for the next shift.

Poe didn’t normally like doing the earlier shift, as it cut up his day strangely, but having the play to look forward to made it worthwhile. He’d read up on Strike of the Empire after Luke had suggested it, and although Poe was not a connoisseur of theatre, he liked the sound of it. The story wasn’t happy, but then a good story didn’t have to be.

Unfortunately, thinking about the play also brought Luke to the forefront of his mind. It had been almost two weeks since the Mugging Incident, capital letters implied, and Poe hadn’t seen Luke once. Normally he came in for his habitual hot chocolate every two or three days, but after the fourth day passed, Poe was beginning to wonder if Luke was avoiding him.

It was typical, that Poe had managed to ruin everything in such a short time. It brought his mood right down with each passing day, and Poe began to wonder what he had said or done to scare the man away. 

It could have been for any reason, even unrelated to him and his big mouth. Luke hadn’t seemed annoyed with him when he’d staged his amazing rescue, but then Poe wasn’t the best at reading people. 

Really, the worst part was not knowing. It left Poe to use his imagination, which was not a happy place at the best of times.

Thank God, Jess had dropped her constant ribbing about it. That night that Luke had failed to come over to the bar and sweep Poe off his feet had seemingly blacklisted Luke in Jess’ mind, and she had begun concentrating her efforts on hooking up Poe with other people. This, he was not so thankful for.

“Tobias from the shop is cute, maybe you should date him?” she had suggested, although Poe’s personal favourite was; “Hey, you like old guys right? I hear Ian Mckellen is at the stage door.” She was absolutely incorrigible. 

Not much could keep Jess quiet, and Poe really hoped she wouldn’t try to talk to him in the middle of the performance; he might actually strangle her.

The end of shift couldn’t come soon enough. Poe thought he must have cleaned a hole in the counter, he’d done it so many times. The cavernous coffee area was usually very empty when a performance was on, leaving them with little to do. Poe’s day went from frantic serving to mind numbing boredom; he wasn't sure how much longer he could work here without losing his mind - it was far less interesting without interactions with Luke to look forward to. 

When their shift finally ended, they rushed to the break room and hastily changed out of their uniforms. Poe wished he had time to go home and shower. He was convinced he smelt like coffee grounds after working the espresso machine all day, but the performance would start very shortly. Pulling on a black, long sleeved shirt and some worn jeans, Poe threw his second favourite jacket over his shoulders (Finn  _ still _ had his favourite one) and waited for Jess at the door.

He wasn’t very concerned with his appearance, not normally at any rate, but some of the theatre goers went all out. As Jess and he walked to the auditorium, they passed sleek black dresses and tailored suits, everyone wearing heavy winter coats. Some of the people looked like they’d stepped right out of a glossy magazine, although the heavy make-up was far more obvious. Thankfully Jess had worn jeans, so they could look lazy and out of place together.

“Looking good hot stuff,” Jess said, giving Poe an exaggerated wink that made him roll his eyes. 

Together they pushed past the growing crowd and through the double doors of the auditorium, the thick carpets swallowing the sound of their footsteps.

The inside of the performance space was very modern. Poe had been to some other theatres in London, which still had the red and gold curtains, with gilded balconies overlooking the stage. The Millennium Theatre, or MT as most people knew it, cut back on unnecessary decoration and kept everything minimal.

The huge room was arranged in a semi-circle, around an open, circular stage. The black, velvet seats rose upwards in a gentle curve, allowing everyone to see the whole of the performance area. Even the set was very basic, with only a gold throne at the centre, and smoke machine billowing out dry ice across the stage.

It was dimly lit, and even though the play hadn’t begun, people spoke in hushed whispers as they moved to their seats. Poe liked the atmosphere of it instantly, and decided he would make an effort to come and see more performances.

“Here we are,” Jess said, practically pulling Poe over to their seats. Her voice was a little too loud in the hushed quiet, and Poe sighed to himself.

“It’s a good view,” Poe said, sliding his coat onto the back of the seat as he settled down. He’d been right about their placements - they were close enough to see the actors’s faces, but not so close that they could spit on them. That did happen, when the actors were a bit too enthusiastic with their lines.

As Poe looked across the bleak stage, his stomach made a noise of protest; he hadn’t eaten anything since lunch, and now it was almost 7 o’clock. 

“I should have brought some snacks,” Poe said, rolling up his sleeves. For some reason he was beginning to feel warm, heat rising up the back of his neck.

“I could get us some chocolate?” Jess said, flicking through an old looking program that Poe was fairly sure she hadn’t bought. 

“From the shop? Sure. Here,” Poe reached into his pocket, pulling out a coin and holding it out to Jess with a grin.

“Two whole pounds? Wow Poe, you’re so minted.” Jess said, rolling her eyes as she snatched the coin and practically climbed over him to get out. 

“Don’t take too long, they won’t let you back in again,” Poe reminded her, sliding down to get comfortable in his seat.

Jess waved an affirmative at him, and Poe took a quiet moment to admire the auditorium. In the past he’d found it quite cold - the air conditioning pumped fresh air in to keep it at an ambient temperature, which apparently was just above freezing, but right now he felt pleasantly warm. He was starting to feel hot, in fact, a flush rising in his back.

Something prickled at the edge of Poe’s awareness, and he found himself scanning the rows of people in front. 

A man with familiar blond and silvered hair was sitting just two rows in front of Poe, and about three seats to the left. Poe felt his eyes drawn to him like a magnet, his chest tightening as he recognised the familiar bamboo-handled umbrella hooked to the seat in front. 

Drawing in a shaky breath, Poe felt his heartbeat surge. It was definitely Luke - Poe could just see the edge of his profile, his usual coat draped over the back of his seat. From this angle Poe couldn’t see if he was wearing his gloves or not, but he imagined he would be.

Most notably, Luke was sitting alone. The seats on either side of him were empty, and the urge to go and sit beside him was so powerful, Poe had to grip the armrests of his own seat to control himself.

Poe had imagined dozens, if not more, conversations he would have with Luke when he saw him again. Just as he thought that would never happen - there he was. Minutes before the start of a play wasn’t really ideal, but Poe was determined. He wouldn’t miss his chance this time. If Poe kept his eye on Luke, he could catch him during the intermission, and they could talk like… like two normal people, enjoying a play.

“I got you some minstrels,” Jess said, making Poe jump as she reappeared. She dropped the brown packet into Poe’s lap, climbing over him again and almost stepping on him to get to her seat. 

“And kept the change, I see,” Poe said, splitting the packet open and popping one into his mouth. 

It was deeply satisfying to let the chocolate shell melt on his tongue, so Poe could lick out the soft centre. It made him feel a brief pang of nostalgia - he used to eat minstrels at the cinema with his Mum and Da, but that felt like a lifetime ago.

“My snack courier fee,” Jess said, and Poe silently congratulated himself on how calm and together he was acting. He could still see Luke from the corner of his eye, and he almost didn’t want to look anywhere else, in case he pulled his vanishing act again.

A voice-over warned that the performance was about to begin, and mercifully Jess stopped talking and focused on devouring her own snacks. Poe was still hyper aware of Luke in his peripheral vision. Heat continued to creep up his back, and Poe pulled at his shirt, trying to focus on the play.

It began with a dimming of the lights and two actors walking onto the stage, and might have been the most excellent performance in existence, had Poe paid much attention to it. 

Jess seemed to be fully absorbed, but Poe found himself shifting uncomfortably. His attention drifted whenever the scene got too long and wordy; his eyes kept wandering over to Luke’s shrouded silhouette, almost of their own volition, making Poe miss whole stretches of dialogue. 

There was something about an Emperor trying to crush a rebellion within his lands, but things kept spiralling out of his control. Poe could sympathise. It was very dramatic, the music loud and atmospheric; Poe felt bad for not giving it his full attention. His thoughts just kept drifting - the only thing that kept running through his head was what he was going to say to Luke, in the interval.

It was the longest hour and half of his life.

At last, one of the characters was kidnapped on stage, signalling the beginning of the interval, and Poe let out an explosive sigh of relief. Jess gave him a strange look, as the lights glowed back on.

“You alright?” she said, getting up. Poe nodded, and Jess climbed over him  _ again _ . “Move then, I need to pee.”

Poe stood. Many other audience members began moving to the bar for a quick drink, and he lost sight of Luke. Heart thumping, Poe strained to see over people’s heads, scanning the faces of people as they passed him. They were all unknown, passing in a tide until Poe was left standing on his own. He hadn’t seen Luke pass him, and as Poe looked down, there he was, still sitting in his seat.

Suffused with nervous energy, Poe made a beeline for the stairs. It wasn’t far, and Poe was glad to see everyone sitting around Luke had gone to the bar. Stopping at the end of the row, he noticed that Luke was reading. He had a battered copy of something in his gloved hands, and a plastic cup of wine on his armrest. 

Poe felt like he was having heart palpitations, and willed himself to take a deep breath, walking forwards as if his legs hadn’t just turned to jelly.

“Hey,” he said, sitting heavily in the empty seat next to Luke. “Enjoying the play?”

Luke looked up in surprise, closing his book around his thumb. He gave Poe a warm upturn of his lips, which did nothing to quell the heat creeping up Poe’s back. He felt like his own smile was closer to a grimace than a sexy, come hither look.

“Poe,” he said, and Poe felt a fissure of pleasure at hearing Luke say his name like that, like he was pleased to see him. “I am. Third time's a charm. Are you enjoying it?”

Lie, Poe thought, lie like you’ve never lied before. He had no idea what was going on, but he wanted Luke to keep looking at him like that.

“Yeah, it’s really… interesting. I decided to take you up on your suggestion,” Poe said, twining his fingers together to keep his hands still. “How uh... have you been?”

“I think I should be asking you that,” Luke said, tucking his book into the side of his seat. His eyes danced with warmth as he regarded Poe, mirroring his pose. When he spoke, his voice was hushed, and Poe let himself be drawn in. “I meant to come and check up on you, but I was called away on business.” 

“Oh, I’m fine,” Poe said quietly, shrugging, as if he hadn’t just spent the last fortnight feeling sorry for himself. Although, talking to Luke now, it was surprisingly easy to let those feelings fade into the background.

Luke raised an eyebrow, and Poe smiled, taking a moment to study Luke’s face. He looked subtly different than the last time Poe had seen him; Luke’s skin wasn’t as winter pale anymore, more golden brown, his hair a touch lighter than it had been. 

“You’re looking tanned,” Poe said, cocking his head to the side “You go somewhere nice?”

“Tunisia,” Luke said, grinning. “I hate the cold, but I don’t think I could stay away from London for long.” 

“I know the feeling,” Poe said, trying not to imagine Luke in the hot sun, in far less clothing than he was wearing now. “What’s the business, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Oh, I deal in antiques,” Luke said. Poe hadn’t thought he could get any more eclectic and strange, but that did it. 

Poe had forgotten almost everything he’d planned on saying, but Luke’s even voice and warm expression had calmed Poe down enough that he could enjoy the normality of their conversation. A strange contentment had come over him, and Poe felt his smile relax. He couldn’t shake the feeling that talking to Luke like this, even though they hardly knew each other, felt  _ right _ .

“You sell old stuff  _ and _ rescue unfortunate commuters? You must be busy,” Poe said, grinning as Luke looked offended.

“Hey, it’s not just old stuff. And I buy it too.” he said, lips twitching in amusement. “When I’m not rescuing damsels in distress, of course.”

“Oh, so I’m a damsel in distress now? Thanks,” Poe said, making a face until Luke let out a soft huff of laughter. 

“You walked into that one,” Luke said, unrepentant as he studied Poe’s face in return. 

“I really didn’t, you’re just rude. Saving people only so you can abuse them later,” Poe said, glad that his usual banter was amusing Luke.

“You’ve got me there,” Luke said, holding his hands up in mock surrender. “Better call the police, I might be a repeat offender.”

Poe let out a small, delighted laugh. He already had a long list of reasons why he liked Luke, but ‘solid banter game’ was definitely getting added to it.

It was on the tip of his tongue to ask if Luke had considered teaching him his ninja ways, when from the corner of his eye, he noticed Jess walking back to their seats. She was looking around for him, and it wouldn’t be long before she spotted him with Luke. Sighing internally, he decided to face the music, turning to give her a little wave. The look she gave him was both puzzled and annoyed.

“Is that your girlfriend?” Luke asked, and Poe looked at him in surprise. There was a note in Luke’s voice that Poe didn’t recognise, his smile faded.

“What, Jess? No, she’s just a friend of mine. I’m not with anyone,” Poe said in a rush, heat flushing his face. “I mean, I don’t have a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend.” He added, and really hoped he didn’t sound like a desperate idiot.

Luke was giving him a considering look, as if he didn’t quite believe him.

“No? You do surprise me,” he murmured, then gave Poe a reassuring smile. “It was nice to see you again Poe. I’m glad you’re doing well.”

It was a clear dismissal, and Poe felt himself deflate a little. He still gave Luke a smile, nodding as he hoped the disappointment didn’t show on his face.

“Thanks to you,” he said, looking away as heat shivered down his spine. Luke always seemed to have that effect on him, as if he had a personal line into Poe’s inner thermostat. It was odd, but Poe found he liked it. “Anyway, I’ll um… leave you to enjoy the rest of the play.”

“Take care Poe, I’m sure I’ll see you around,” Luke said, and Poe glanced at his warm expression one more time, before slinking off, his good mood subdued.

The look Jess gave him when he slid back into his seat was nothing short of murderous.

“Is that who I think it is?” she said, and Poe sank back in his chair, rubbing his hands over his face.

“Yes, but please don’t. We just had a chat,” Poe said, sighing as Jess shot Luke the same murderous expression. Thankfully he was looking away, although Poe wouldn’t be surprised if Luke could feel Jess’ eyes burrowing a hole in the back of his skull, her look was so strong.

“Leave it Jess, he hasn’t done anything wrong.” Poe insisted, drawing her attention back to him.

“Yeah he has, he hasn’t done  _ you _ yet,” Jess replied, and Poe felt like she’d suddenly set his face on fire. He really, really hoped Luke couldn’t hear them from where he was sitting.

“Jess,” he hissed, as she gave him a look, stealing some of his minstrels. 

He wasn’t really annoyed with her. It was sweet, in a way, that Jess was so ready to defend him from a perceived slight. Despite her irreverent manner, Jess was an incredibly loyal friend, and it made Poe wonder if he’d done something really good in a previous life, to deserve such devoted friends. 

She still made him blush like a fire engine, however, and her interest in his love life he could do without.

Through the rest of the play, he could feel Jess giving him sidelong looks every now and again, his own eyes constantly drawn to Luke. He felt like a bit of a tool - now Jess was distracted from the rest of the play, and probably couldn’t wait to grill him about what Luke had said. 

There was a random drumming scene at one point in the play, and Poe felt like it was his own funeral march; death by sexual frustration and Jess’ constant questioning. 

The play ended, as expected, with most of the characters dead, the Emperor receiving a hollow victory as his lands burned around him. It was a real downer of an ending, but he applauded the actors along with everyone else; it wasn’t their fault the play was depressing, and Poe’s mind was elsewhere.

“I’m starving,” Jess said, as the lights came back up. Poe was hungry as well, despite all the chocolate he’d eaten. Unfortunately, their options were limited this time of night.

“Do you wanna go see what’s on the Southbank?” Poe suggested, biting his lip as he scanned the crowd one more time. Luke had already left his seat, but Poe couldn’t see him anywhere, his heart squeezing as he realised he’d likely missed him again. Just his luck.

Dragging himself from his seat, Jess and Poe mixed into the crowd and allowed themselves to be pulled along, before fanning out at the exit. Jess grabbed his sleeve so they wouldn’t lose each other, heading towards the big, glass front doors.

“So did you enjoy the play or did you spend most of it gazing at your boyfriend?” Jess said, pinning him with a look.

“Jess, he isn’t my boyfriend,” Poe protested, as they walked out into the cool, evening air. 

The river was right in front of them, the Southbank stretching out to their left and right, but most of the trendy food venders looked like they’d packed up for the night. There were some bars around the corner, but Poe wasn’t so sure he wanted to spend his evening’s wages on cocktails and tiny dim sum. 

“Poe, I’m not judging or anything, but it might be time for you to - hold up.” Jess said, then stopped herself, looking up in surprise.

“I should hold up?” Poe said, confused, following Jess’ gaze. He felt his own eyes widen as he saw who was walking towards them.

Luke was striding out of the theatre, his black coat billowing around him in the slight night breeze. Poe’s heart leapt into his throat, especially when he saw that Luke was looking right at him, his blue eyes warm.

He was reminded again, as Luke came to towards them, that he wasn’t especially tall. He was the same height as Poe, but he carried himself taller. It was an odd thing to observe, and Poe realised he’d been staring for way too long when Luke stopped in front of them.

“Poe, sorry to disturb you and your friend.” Luke said, giving Jess a courteous smile. “I just wanted to say, I hope you enjoyed the performance.”

“Luke, hi,” Poe said, silently willing Jess to be nice and just not say anything. “It was yeah, it was great. I can see why it’s been popular.”

Jess snorted, and Poe felt like his stomach had dropped down to his shoes. He shot her a look of absolute, blind panic, but she just smiled.

“Yeah, it was great.” she said, although she didn’t sound so convincing. “Look Poe, I’d better get going. I’ll see you tomorrow at work, okay?”

“What? Oh,” Poe said, confused. Jess was giving him a meaningful look, and it took him long moments to figure out why she was suddenly abandoning him.

“You don’t need to leave on my account,” Luke said, but Jess smiled, shaking her head.

“No problem, I’ll have an early night. You boys have fun.”

Nodding dumbly as Jess waved and began to walk away, Poe had never felt so terrible in his life. He was literally the worst friend in the world, and Jess was the best - he knew he was going to be in for some serious grovelling tomorrow. He really hoped Luke couldn’t sense how awkward he suddenly felt, as they were left alone, by aforementioned best friend in the world.

There was a pause, and Poe grappled quickly for something to say.

“I was thinking I should see more theatre, since I work here,” he managed, and Luke smiled.

“You should take advantage whilst you can,” Luke said, standing so close that Poe felt a rush of heat fill him up to his fingertips. 

“You have any more suggestions for me?” Poe said, shoving his hands into his pockets to keep them still. His hands always shook when he was nervous - but it was also partly from excitement, as Luke had approached him, to talk to him, and he felt giddy with that realisation. 

“Oh, plenty.” Luke said, lifting his umbrella and tucking it under his arm. “Most of them aren’t tragedies either.”

“Oh good,” Poe laughed, relieved. The Strike of the Empire had really highlighted how much he did not enjoy tragedies. “I think I need something a bit cheerier, in the future.”

Luke gave him a knowing smile. “Where are you headed this evening? We could walk together,” Luke suggested, and Poe cursed the fact that his station was only five minute away.

“Waterloo,” he said, and Luke nodded, falling into step beside him. “Although, let's not go the dodgy underpass way this time.” Poe said, and Luke laughed.

“Yes, let’s not.” he agreed, and they began to walk along the side of the river, Waterloo bridge looming in front of them. Poe was still reeling from the fact that Luke wanted to spend time with him, even for just a short walk, which was a step in the right direction. He definitely going to shower Jess in gifts for this.

Luke began to tell him about the other plays that were being hosted by the MT, and Poe took them on a slightly longer route, cutting under Waterloo bridge and away from the British Film Institute. The street was mainly empty of other pedestrians, but the BFI bar was full, music and light spilling out as they strolled past.

Poe could see the light reflecting on the river, blues and yellows that glittered on the black surface. He watched the water ripple, before looking back at Luke’s face, letting his word wash over him as he basked in the warmth of his attention.

“You make them all sound good,” Poe said, as Luke trailed off.

“Well, I am rather biased,” Luke said, following Poe as he lead them under another bridge, away from the river. This one had a few restaurants and bars on one side, snug inside the old Victorian pillars, and someone had placed mirrors on the opposite wall, to give it a feeling of greater space.

As they walked, Poe glanced at their reflections, giving himself a small smile. Luke was standing very straight, and even though they were around the same height, Luke definitely had better posture. Poe thought he looked like a younger man that Luke was picking up for the night, and dazedly, he wondered if that was what this was.

Licking his lip, he looked back at Luke’s face, realising he’d gone quiet. Gazing at him, Poe was puzzled by Luke’s expression.

“I don’t mean to alarm you Poe,” Luke said, his voice soft. He curled his fingers around Poe’s upper arm, guiding him out of the tunnel and away from Waterloo station. “But we’re being followed.”

“What?” Poe said, his thoughts scattering. He resisted the urge to look around, wondering why Luke was leading them  _ away _ from the station. 

There was no way his luck was that bad. This area was lit up and people were still milling around; no one would try and mug them here. But Luke’s expression had shuttered, and although he wasn’t holding on tightly, Poe doubted he could break free if he tried.

“How can you be sure?” Poe asked, as Luke began to walk briskly away from the more crowded areas. It seemed a bit counterproductive, but Poe let Luke guide him along. 

“You’ll have to trust me, I’m afraid,” Luke said, and he gave Poe a pinched, apologetic look. “I’m sorry you’re involved in this Poe, I had a bad feeling something like this might happen.”

Poe gaped at him a little. All those wild fantasies he’d had about Luke being some kind of secret agent came flooding back to him, and Poe swallowed, nodding dumbly.

“Is someone after you?” Poe said, his heart beating uncomfortably against his chest. Luke pulled them between two buildings; it was a street just wide enough for a single car, possibly for dropping off goods to either building. Luke walked them towards the centre, all the while looking over his shoulder as Poe tried to imagine who could be following them.

“In a manner of speaking,” Luke said, stopping and finally letting go of Poe’s arm. They both looked towards the mouth of the alley as a figure appeared. It was a man with dark skin, and a jacket Poe recognised very well.

“Oh my god,” Poe said, a relieved laugh escaping him. He felt like clutching his chest, his poor heart still thumping away, adrenaline left him in a rush. “Luke, that’s just my friend Finn. He was probably trying to sneak up on us.” Poe said, waving. “Hey buddy!”

“Poe, stop,” Luke said, his arm snapping out to halt Poe in his tracks. Confused, Poe stopped, annoyance seeping him him as Luke continued to give Finn a dark, assessing look.

“Luke, what’s the problem? He’s a friend of mine,” Poe said, as Finn started to advance towards him. 

It was weird that he hadn’t said anything yet. Poe wasn’t even sure why Finn was here, unless he’d come to a bar after work and happened to see Poe. But… Finn didn’t work anywhere near here. 

As Poe glanced back, Finn was still walking silently towards them, one arm tucked awkwardly behind his back.

“Look again,” Luke said, and Poe furrowed his brow as he did, Finn still silent as his movements became jerky. Poe almost leapt out his skin as Finn stopped in front of them, his heart picking back up like a jump started battery.

“What the fuck,” Poe gasped. 

Finn’s eyes were completely white. They’d rolled back in his head, like he was having a fit. Drool was dribbling down his chin, the muscles in his mouth slack and lifeless. 

“Finn, buddy, what’s wrong?” Poe said, panic beginning to overtake him as he tried to get past Luke and reach his friend.

“Poe, stop!” Luke said, grabbing Poe and hauling him back, pressing him firmly against the wall of the alley. The show of strength nearly knocked the air right out of him, and Poe felt too shocked to struggle, staring at Luke with wide eyes.

“Please, stay here. You have to trust me,” Luke said, his blue eyes intense and burning. 

“But-” Poe started, and Luke shook his head quickly.

“Poe, please.” Luke said, and something in his eyes made Poe nod, his heart beating wildly.

“Stay here,” Luke said again, his mouth set in a firm line. “Whatever you do, don’t let him touch you.” he added, hands cupping Poe’s shoulders. 

The look on Luke’s face was the same he’d seen that night in the underpass; his eyes intense and blazing.

“Luke, fuck…” Poe said, eyes darting over to Finn. He was swaying from side to side, and now Poe could feel the menacing air about him, his one visible hand flexing like a claw. None of it made sense, and Poe felt like his world was tipping upside down, words like zombies and mutant plague flooding through his mind.

“You can’t protect them,” a gravelly, hoarse voice said, and Poe shuddered when he realised it was coming from Finn.

“Stay,” Luke insisted on last time, squeezing Poe’s shoulders before turning to face the abomination masquerading as Poe’s best friend.

“They’re just lambs, and you’ve led them to the slaughter,” the Finn imposter said, and Poe swore loudly as Finn finally whipped his arm from behind his back, revealing a sword.

“Very poetic, did your master give you any other trite lines, or was that the best one?” Luke said, seemingly unconcerned that Finn was holding a curved sabre at him.

Poe gaped at them. Where the fuck had Finn gotten a sword from? It wasn’t even a normal looking sword, the blade curved and tapered. Just as Poe was about to say this, the Finn creature growled, low and guttural, no sound that a human vocal cord could make. He thrust out with the sword and caught Luke as he lept backwards, sending his umbrella flying. 

The curved sabre  _ ignited _ in a shower of sparks, flooding the alley with light. Poe yelped and pressed back against the wall, his vision spotting. The blade glowed white hot, then red, making Poe deliriously wonder if he was having some kind of seizure. How the fuck did a sword start glowing with red fire!?

“Now I have disarmed you, you will meet your end.” Finn pronounced, his voice becoming deeper and more slurred.

Luke dodged another swipe, moving so fast that Poe could barely keep up. He’d never seen Finn fight before, and his movements were slow and clumsy, as if he didn’t quite know what to do with the body.

Luke made a tsk noise of annoyance, jumping away from another heavy thrust. “Why do you always assume my weapon is the umbrella?” he said, as he reached inside his coat.

Poe gasped, hands flat against the cold wall as Luke pulled his own blade from seemingly nowhere. The elegantly curved sabre glowed white hot and then green, the light spilling across the alley. He swung it in a practiced arch around his head, his body flowing gracefully behind it.

It was like a scene from a film, only Poe could feel the heat from the swords, the red and green light dancing and hurting his eyes. It was clear that imposter Finn wasn’t going to last long - Luke skill was so superior it was almost laughable, his movements smooth and lightning quick.

“You’re stronger than this,” Luke said, pushing Finn back with the force of his blade. The metal sang as it met, sparks flying as both sabres burned with an inner fire. “You must fight it! It can’t hold you if you don’t want it to.”

Finn seemed to waver for a moment, his jaw tightening. Poe held his breath, but then the moment was gone, the monster raising its sword with two hands. Poe yelped as their blades met again, the metal screeching in a blaze of sparks. 

Finn growled, making a clumsy attempt to stab at Luke, and then Luke was on him. A quick perry sent Finn’s blade flying, its light dying before it clattered to the floor. Luke twisted his blade with a flick of his hand, and suddenly Finn was standing rigid, his fingers still grasping like claws. He was vibrating with tension, a muscle in his jaw jumping as Luke thrust his sword forward.

“Don’t!” Poe yelped horsely, sicked panic lancing through him as he jumped away from the wall. Luke didn’t stop, thrusting forward again, and Poe cried out in alarm. Finn was still upright, shaking violently as Luke swept the sword around him, and it was only then that Poe realised the blade hadn’t touched his skin. Luke was drawing quick, dancing patterns around him, his sabre only a hair's breadth away from cutting flesh.

Finn shuddered, a gasp escaping him just as Luke’s blade seemed to catch on something and tug. Poe got the impression of smoke, black and white, seeping from Finn’s body. It condensed in the air, a menacing cloud that Luke swept his blade through. It made an awful, chilling screech, before dissipating into the air.

Finn crumpled to the floor, like a puppet with it’s strings cut.

“Buddy!” Poe gasped, skidding in his haste to get to Finn. His knees took the brunt of his weight as he fell to the floor, grabbing Finn and clutching at him. “Oh fuck, is he okay?”

Finn was out cold. Poe felt frantically for his pulse, letting out a breath as he found it, strong and steady. Finn was worryingly still though, his skin clammy and covered in cold sweat.

“It’s alright Poe, he’ll be fine,” Luke said, his sabre dimming as he slide it back inside his coat. Jesus, Poe thought deliriously, no wonder he wears such a long coat. 

“That was miles away from fine,” Poe said, patting Finn on the face. He didn’t stir. “Fuck, Luke… what the fuck just happened? I mean…” Poe stammered, his mind racing a million miles a minute. “That was not normal. That was so, so far from normal I am freaking the fuck out right now.”

“Poe,” Luke said, kneeling in front of him. His calm voice made Poe look up, and he was instantly caught in Luke’s gaze. “This was my fault. I’m so sorry,” he said, and Poe felt his own throat close up at the anguish he could see in Luke’s expression. 

He’d never seen him look so troubled, his pale eyes brimming with guilt. “I can take you somewhere safe, and then I’ll explain. Will you let me do that?” Luke said, still holding Poe’s gaze.

Poe nodded, slowly, his hands still clutching at Finn. Nothing could have prepared him for what he’d just seen - everything he’d imagined about Luke’s secret life paled in comparison to this. 

I’m going into shock, he thought, as Luke picked up the second blade, examining it quietly. He slid that one inside his coat as well, before helping Poe lift Finn into an upright position. They both slung one of his arms over their shoulders, and Poe was glad Luke was so strong - he would never have managed Finn’s dead weight on his own.

“Your umbrella,” Poe said suddenly, then felt stupid as Luke shook his head. 

“It’s alright, I have plenty,” Luke said, thankfully not mentioning how pointless it was to worry about an umbrella, with everything else that had happened. Poe felt like his mind was grasping out randomly for anything normal, as they dragged Finn to the mouth of the alley. 

“Where are we going?” Poe said, a buzzing sound beginning in his ears. Now was really, really not a good time to start feeling faint, but Poe couldn’t seem to get a grip on himself.

“We’ll get a taxi to my house. It’s safer there,” Luke said, and they finally started walking towards Waterloo station, Luke guiding them to the taxi rank. Fortunately, there weren’t a lot of people around to see them dragging an obviously unconscious man, but the taxi driver did not look impressed.

“You’re not bringing him in here,” he said, looking Finn up and down dubiously. Poe was about to protest, when Luke spoke.

“There is nothing wrong with this man,” he said, an odd note in his voice.

“There’s nothing wrong with that man,” the taxi driver agreed, nodding as his expression became placid. Poe looked between them, confused. Why was he suddenly agreeing with Luke?

“You’ll take us where we want to go,” Luke continued, as the driver got out to open the door for them.

“Of course, I’ll take you where you want to go.”

Poe was struck by the dazed look on the cabbie’s face, as he helped them load Finn into the back. It wasn’t the weirdest thing that had happened tonight, but Luke suddenly seemed very different to Poe. 

He still looked the same, as they carefully maneuvered Finn into the middle seat. Luke still hand laugh lines on his face, and a coat that was way too expensive for Poe’s taste. But he was also completely different - he was an enigma, powerful in a way that Poe couldn’t even begin to explain. 

He couldn’t help thinking of the two, bloody great big swords that Luke had stashed inside his coat. How did he manage not to stab himself? Poe thought, clutching at Finn like a lifeline. 

The black cab was big enough for Poe and Luke to sit either side of Finn and keep him upright, as they buckled his seat belt. Luke gave the driver some address in South Kensington, and Poe really should not have been surprised. 

They sat in silence for the drive, and Poe guided Finn’s head onto his shoulder, taking comfort in the solid warmth of his friend. He could still feel the buzzing in his ears, his mind supplying him with fragmented thoughts about everything he’d seen this evening. 

Luke wasn’t a spy. If anything, he was some kind of real life superhero, but that was made far less awesome by what had happened to Finn. Poe felt like taking his friend’s hand and squeezing it, more for his own comfort than anything, worry eclipsing his thoughts. 

Something had… possessed his friend, then come after Luke. It couldn’t be coincidence that it was Finn who’d come after them. A shudder went down Poe’s spine as he remembered the guilt on Luke’s face, as he’d apologised. He’d said… he’d known something like this would happen. 

In less than an hour, Poe’s entire view of reality had shifted, and the mystery of Luke was at the centre of it. We’re all well and truly fallen down the rabbit hole, Poe thought.

As the taxi began to slow, Poe realised they’d arrived. He’d only ever been to South Kensington to visit the museums, like the Natural History Museum or the Science Museum. The rest of it was made up of a small, trendy high street and massive, Victorian terrace houses. Some of them had been converted into shops, but the one the taxi pulled up outside of was definitely a house. 

It was a grand, four story building with white pillars and huge bay windows. Poe had wondered if Luke was well off, but this really took the cake - the house was probably worth millions, especially if Luke had the whole property. 

Together they lifted Finn out of the taxi, and Luke paid the driver an amount of money that made Poe feel a little sick, before shuffling together up to the front of the house. He couldn’t help thinking of his own, sad little house, as they walked into the front hall. 

The interior had what seemed like a lot of its original finishings, with mutely coloured tiles on the floor, and high ceiling decorated with plaster reliefs. The old, smart furniture reminded Poe that Luke dealt in antiques, although he wasn’t sure the average antique dealer made this kind of money.

With much struggling, they managed to get Finn up the huge staircase to a guest room on the first floor. 

“Finn, buddy, you gotta lose some weight,” Poe muttered, as they laid him on the single bed. Poe sat beside him, pulling his trainers off and putting them next to the bed, before examining his friend.

“He’ll be alright,” Luke said, his voice quiet as he moved to stand in the doorway. “He just needs rest.”

“You’re sure?” Poe said, feeling a wave of tiredness wash over him. He wanted to know everything that was going on; he had so many questions for Luke, but bringing Finn here had completely wiped him out.

“I’m sure, I’ve seen it before,” Luke said, his eyes looking sadly at Finn.

Poe nodded, carefully moving some of the covers over Finn. He wanted to stay with him, but there was no room in the little bed, and he felt like he was about to collapse with exhaustion himself. Finn’s face looked dull and lifeless, lit only by the light from the hallway. It made Poe’s stomach clench with worry, but there was little he could do but follow Luke’s advice.

“Come on,” Luke said gently, gesturing. “I’ll get you something for the shock.”

“Not tea this time,” Poe managed, pulling himself up and following Luke into the hall. Luke made a huffing noise, shaking his head.

“It’ll have to be sugar water then, I’m afraid,” he said, leading Poe up another flight of stairs. The house just seemed to go up and up, appearing larger and deeper because of the darkness. Luke didn’t bother putting many lights on, seeming to know his way by feel alone. Opening a door on the landing, he led Poe into a room that could only be the master bedroom.

“I’m afraid all the other guest rooms are full of junk,” Luke said, wincing subtly as he looked around what was obviously his own room. 

Poe was a little mollified to see that it wasn’t completely tidy. The huge wooden wardrobe, likely the entrance to Narnia, was open, some of Luke’s clothes thrown haphazardly over the doors. There was a bookcase that covered one entire wall, and Poe boggled at the sheer amount of books and knicknacks it contained. 

The room was so big that there was even a two seat sofa under the window, Luke’s books having spread out across that and the small coffee table in front of it. There was even a book and several newspapers on the bed, and Luke hastily gathered those up and dumped them on his coffee table.

Poe liked that almost everything was various shades of blue, including the walls. That seemed very… Luke.

“You can sleep here, I’ll lend you some pyjamas,” Luke said, walking over to his chest of drawers and pulling out a t-shirt and some sweat pants. Poe couldn’t really imagine Luke wearing them, but he accepted them with a mumbled thanks.

Luke reached out, squeezing Poe’s shoulder. “You get changed, I’ll bring you something to drink. Alright?” and Poe nodded. He was suddenly so tired he could barely lift his own head.

As Luke swept out the door, still wearing his coat and gloves, Poe sat down heavily on the bed. It was quiet and still, the bedside lamp casting a soft glow. The stillness pressed in around Poe as his mind was anything but, his thoughts still swirling. He took several long moments to study the bedroom around him, feeling… a little lost in the huge space.

Fingering the clothes in his lap, Poe looked down at them. The t-shirt and sweatpants were really soft, and as Poe peeled of his own clothes and slipped them on, he realised they smelt of Luke. Everything in the room did, including the bed, as Poe collapsed back heavily. 

Despite all the weirdness, Poe couldn’t help trusting Luke. This was the second time he’d saved him, and now Finn too, when Luke could have been seriously hurt. What was his life like, that he had to worry about random sword attacks from possessed loonies? 

Poe couldn’t get Luke’s expression out of his head, the almost pained look he’d given him as he’d apologised. Poe knew, right then, that he would do anything to get rid of that look. No person was meant to carry around that kind of sadness, that kind of guilt. 

He’d helped his Da accept that once. Maybe he could help Luke too?

Hazily, Poe wondered why Luke hadn’t just put him on the sofa. The bed was so soft, and the covers felt like silky clouds, so there was no way Poe was sleeping on the sofa now anyway. The adrenaline had left him in such a rush that he felt like a wrung out dishcloth, his limbs weighed down with tiredness. When Luke returned, he was almost asleep, his eyes drooping.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Luke gave him a soft, fond look, placing a glass of water on the bedside table.

“Sleep, you’ll be safe here,” Luke murmured, and Poe nodded, even though questions were beginning to form in his mind. As if he could sense this, Luke shook his head. “Shh, it’s alright. You need rest too. We’ll talk in the morning.”

“Where will you sleep?” Poe murmured, thinking that the huge double bed was plenty big enough for two.

“Don’t worry about me,” Luke said, touching Poe’s hand. Belatedly, Poe realised Luke had taken his glove off - his hand was warm and rough, gently caressing Poe’s skin. “I have some business to take care of. Sleep well.”

Poe nodded slowly, closing his eyes again. Darkness took him instantly, pulling him into a heavy, deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooooo.... shit got real.


	5. I have some breakfast things

“Poe, sorry to call you so late.”

Rey sighed, hugging herself with one arm as she held the phone to her ear. “I know you’re probably out with Jess or someone…” she trailed off, biting her lip. Her face was pale and pinched, and she seemed to consider her words carefully before she spoke. “I don’t know, I just have a bad feeling. I can’t get hold of Finn either. Will you just… text me when you get this message? Okay, take care.”

Pulling the phone away from her ear, Rey looked down at the screen, a frown on her face.

Poe didn’t like seeing her so worried. He wanted to reach out to her, but found he couldn’t. He was in a strange, drifting place, intangible and serene. He hovered above her in their small kitchen, the odd angle giving him a view of things he’d never seen before. There was a lot of dust on top of their stove vent, and a shot glass stranded on one of the cupboards. Everything had a strange, fuzzy edge to it, and Poe let himself float around, keeping an eye on Rey.

The room faded by slow degrees, and Poe let it go, feeling like he was submerging into deep, warm waters. He sank down and down, his vision gradually returning as Poe found himself back in Luke’s bedroom. He was somewhere around the ceiling, looking down at his own body, asleep on the bed.

Poe was strangely undisturbed by this, simply observing. Luke was still sitting beside him, and there was a long moment where Poe watched Luke, and Luke watched him sleep. Finally, Luke said something too low for Poe to hear, and carefully turned off the bedside lamp. He moved to the door, and Poe tried to follow him, but the room began to fade again. The same warm, deep feeling pulled him under, until blackness overcome him once more.

-

A crack of sunlight filtered across Poe’s face, drawing him to wakefulness. With a groan, he stretched, a soft sleepiness still clouding his mind. His hand hit something cold and metallic - Poe jerked in surprise. Blinking fully awake, he craned his head back, momentarily confused by the metal bars of the headboard. The diffused light through the curtains lit the space enough for him to see, and memory came flooding back to him. This was Luke’s room.

There were lots of details that Poe had been too exhausted to take in the night before. Two windows faced the bed, one with a well loved sofa sitting under it, a tall lamp to the side. The bookcase had been built around an old fireplace; there was no hearth, just another untidy stack of books. There was a sort of ordered chaos to the room, with a few antiques here and there, and what Poe _really_ hoped was not an original Ming vase.

Sitting up, Poe swung his legs over the side of the bed, stretching up until his back popped. Luke had left him a glass of water, which he grabbed and drank greedily - before spitting it back out.

“Urg!” Poe gagged, wiping his mouth. The stupid thing was full of sugar.

Pushing the glass aside and scrubbing a hand through his hair, Poe sighed to himself - where was Luke anyway? There was no sign of him in the room; glancing around, Poe spotted a neatly folded pile of clothes by the bedside table, with a small note attached.

Picking it up, he squinted to decipher it. “Hope these fit…” he read. Luke’s handwriting was appalling, like the kind of chicken scratch Poe would expect to see on a doctor’s note.

Poe smoothed his hand over the clothes - Luke must have left them while he was asleep. There was another soft, grey t-shirt and a pair of dark trousers made from some expensive looking fabric. He wasn’t sure how he felt about wearing something that looked so new, his hands fingering the dark cloth. There was even a toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste, which was more thoughtful than Poe had never been to a guest in his own house. He could really do with a shower as well, but he didn’t want to impose on Luke, especially if he was out. Taking off the borrowed pyjamas, Poe folded them clumsily, before beginning to pull on the offered clothes.

There was a mirror on the door of the huge, Narnian wardrobe, but Poe only gave himself a cursory glance. The t-shirt and trousers fit, and it was odd to think he was wearing another set of Luke’s clothes, smelling freshly clean. Grabbing the toothbrush and toothpaste, Poe stepped cautiously out into the hall, looking around for the bathroom. The door at the top of the stairs had been left open and inviting, the bathroom evident inside - was that deliberate as well? It seemed like Luke was managing to look out for him even without being here.

Like everything in Luke’s house, the bathroom likely hadn’t changed since the Victorian era. It was tiled black and white, with red and rose coloured towels. The bath was set back in an alcove, and even had copper taps, the porcelain gleaming in the soft light through the window.

Poe stepped inside and made a face at himself in the mirror. Another thing he really needed was a shave - he looked very homeless chic in Luke’s immaculate bathroom, but he felt a bit better after brushing his teeth. Running the cold tap, he splashed some water on his face, taking a breath as it cleared his fuzzy head.

His mind was still slowly turning over the events from last night, snagging on his worry over Finn. He needed to go and check on him soon; after drying his face on one of the soft towels, Poe peered into the hall.

He felt so out of place in the silent house, like an intruder afraid of being caught. There was still no sign of Luke - Poe decided he’d waited long enough, and began to tiptoe down the stairs.Worry was gnawing at him now, and he hoped that sleep had helped Finn recover. He could still be asleep now, so Poe tried to be as quiet as possible, wincing as the stairs creaked under his feet.

The guest room door was firmly shut, and Poe listened for a moment, trying to determine if Finn was awake or not. He couldn’t hear a sound - Poe knew for a fact that Finn could snore epically loud, so the lack of noise was probably a positive sign of wakefulness. Knocking softly with the back of his hand, Poe opened the door slowly, opening it fully when he saw the bedcovers move.

“Hey buddy, you awake?” Poe said softly, coming into the room.

There was a confused noise from the bed, and Finn’s dark hands appeared, pulling back the covers with a dramatic yawn. Poe couldn’t help the small, fond smile on his face; Finn looked adorably confused, like a puppy woken from a nap.

“What,” Finn said, rubbing his eyes and looking around. “Where’m I?” he said, voice still slurred with sleep.

“We’re at Luke’s house,” Poe said, walking over and perching on the bed. Finn looked at him uncomprehendingly, and Poe began to frown. “Do you… remember what happened last night?”

“No?” Finn said, uncertain. “Yes? Maybe? Who’s Luke?”

“You know, the guy who saved me from those muggers?” Poe said, his humour vanishing.

Luke had said Finn would be fine, but… seeing Finn so confused doubled his concern, and Poe’s mind began to (unhelpfully) supply him with worst case scenarios. What if that thing had given him lasting brain damage, or something equally terrible?

“Oh yeah,” Finn said, scratching his jaw. Poe sagged a little in relief, although Finn still seemed off, like his mind was working too slowly. He was staring thoughtfully at the bedcovers, and Poe could practically see the wheels turning in his head. “Does he have a sword?” Finn said at last, looking puzzled by his own question.

A relieved grin spread across Poe's face. “You do remember.” Reaching out, he squeezed Finn’s arm. “He does buddy. What else?”

“I dunno mate, it's really weird,” Finn said, uncertainty in his voice.

It took a lot to shake Finn. Poe usually admired Finn’s ability to bounce back from things, always with a ready smile. Now there was a tension in his features that didn’t belong, as he tried to remember what had transpired. Last night Finn’s face had been so utterly devoid of expression, Poe had hardly recognised him - he suppressed a shudder at the memory, letting Finn take his time organising his thoughts.

“I came out of work,” Finn began slowly, his eyebrows drawn together. “And I started feeling kind of... sick and dizzy. I dunno why, but then I started getting these weird thoughts.”

“What kind of thoughts?” Poe said, sitting up straighter.

“Like, I had to be somewhere, and quickly. I was… I was really afraid of being late.” Finn said, swallowing. “But it wasn’t me. I dunno how to explain it,” He frowned, his frustration being to show. “It was like I was drunk, kind of, and I couldn't control myself. Like, I was doing these things but… I wasn’t doing them. I watching myself do them.” he finished, his hands tightening on the bed sheets.

Poe felt a bit sick himself as he listened. It was awful, imagining Finn not being in control of his own body, watching helplessly as some _thing_ took control.

“Jesus Finn.” he said, “What the hell did it make you do?”

Finn shook his head, his eyebrows drawn together. “I don’t remember all of it. I blacked out for a while, I think.” Finn said, his jaw tightening. “I remember seeing you, and then… I had this sword in my hand, and I just kept thinking over and over - I have to kill Luke Skywalker.”

Finn looked up finally, and Poe held his gaze, the unreality of the situation unfolding between them.

“He did something with his sword,” Poe said quietly, his mind recalling it in vivid detail. “It pulled - whatever it was - out of you.”

“What the fuck was it?” Finn said, and Poe just shook his head helplessly.

“No idea. You freaking out buddy?” he asked gently, squeezing Finn’s arm again. Even with the tension in his face, Finn seemed surprisingly calm; far calmer than Poe had felt the night before, when he’d dragged Finn’s unconscious body here.

“A bit,” Finn admitted, lifting his hand and squeezing Poe’s arm in return, linking them together through touch. “I’m still processing. What the fuck, you know?”

Poe couldn’t help a small snort, hysteria hovering at the edge of his consciousness. “Yeah, I know.”

They lapsed into silence for a moment, both of them processing how their realities had been utterly turned upside down. Yesterday, Poe had accepted what he knew about the world at face value - he’d seen enough shit in real life not to bother worrying about anything else. Except, apparently there was a whole other bit that he’d never worried about, which he and perhaps many other people on this planet were woefully ignorant of.

He had so many things he wanted to ask Luke, he was going to have to start writing them down. Just as he thought that, Finn’s hand slid back down on the bed, breaking the moment of connection between them. A stricken look had crossed Finn’s face, his hands scabbling under the bedcovers.

“Shit shit, what time is it?” he swore, clumsily pulling his phone out. “Shit Poe, I should be at work!”

“Buddy, no way are you going into work today,” Poe said firmly, sitting up straight and giving Finn his best stern look. “We don’t even really know what happened yet! You could still be… I don’t know, concussed. Just call in sick, okay?”

“I was possessed, not dropped on my head,” Finn rolled his eyes, his expression caught between annoyance and dread. “I’ve never called in sick!” he moaned, pulling a hand over his face in despair. Poe felt a little sorry for him - Finn took a lot of pride in his spotless reputation, and although Poe himself was not a paragon of responsibility, he could see how much it mattered to Finn.

“One day isn’t gonna make a difference. And I think you need it buddy.” Poe insisted. Finn might not be freaking out now, but Poe doubted that work would help his state of mind much. “Just tell them you have food poisoning, can’t argue with that.”

Still looking deeply unhappy, Finn nodded, gazing sadly at the screen of his phone. Poe gave him a small, encouraging smile, getting up and moving away to allow him some privacy. Finn was never usually that easy to convince - he’d never bunked off school in his life, or work, so Poe knew that he was right to insist. Finn did need a little time to recover.

Finn was already dialing his work number, so Poe wandered over to the small window in the room. It overlooked the road, and Poe could see a small tree on the pavement, its leaves a riot of yellow and orange. He studied it for a moment, half listening to Finn’s conversation.

He must have left his own mobile with his clothes from last night. Scratching at his stubble, Poe tried to remember if he’d seen it. All he’d done last night was take his clothes off, which meant he’d probably left them in a pile on the floor. A hot flush began to creep into his cheeks - had Luke tidied up after him?

With a growing sense of embarrassed horror, Poe quietly slinked out the door, heading back towards Luke’s room. The curtains were still drawn, the pale light making everything seem a darker blue - including his jeans, which were folded by the wardrobe. He’d walked right past them like an idiot.

Bending down, cursing his own sloppy habits, Poe scooped up his things and shuffled back downstairs. Finn was still detailing his ‘symptoms’ on the phone, which sounded suspiciously similar to Poe’s own experiences of food poisoning. Clearly, Finn had taken notes at the time.

Dropping his things with Finn’s shoes, Poe dug his own phone out and gave it a glance, surprise flooding him.

He had three missed calls from Rey, along with four texts and a voicemail. Opening the text thread, he felt instantly terrible.

_Message at 20:04 from Rey_

_Poe, are you coming home tonight? I was thinking we could get take-away._

He’d forgotten to tell Rey that he was going to the theatre. Normally Poe was very good at telling Rey where he was, but last night he hadn’t even considered checking his phone. Rey wasn’t one to bug him with messages, and the first one wasn’t so bad - Poe only felt a small pang of guilt for being a horrible housemate. Unfortunately, they got steadily worse after that.

_Message at 20:41 from Rey_

_If you’re going out with Jess let me know, we can rain check the takeaway._

_Message at 21:37 from Rey_

_I tried calling Finn but he isn’t answering. Do you know where he is?_

_Message at 22:01 from Rey_

_Where are you?_

Guilt churned in his gut - what if Rey had stayed up all night, wondering where he was? That wasn’t like her, but Poe still felt awful for not considering she might be worried. Trepidation filled him as he dialed his voicemail and put the phone to his ear.

“Poe, sorry to call you so late. I know you’re probably out with Jess or someone…I don’t know, I just have a bad feeling. I can’t get hold of Finn either. Will you just… text me when you get this message? Okay, take care.”

An unfathomable sense of deja vu came over Poe, a cold feeling spreading from his gut. His mum used to say that it was the feeling of someone walking over your grave - and didn’t that just take on a whole new meaning now?

Poe could even picture Rey, standing in the kitchen and looking worried as she made that call. How did he even know that? Poe felt his brows furrow as something niggled at the back of his mind. It was a strange feeling, like there was a word stuck on the tip of his tongue, but Poe couldn’t quite grasp it.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of the front door opening; Finn’s head jerked up as well, and they quickly glanced at each other. Moving to the bedroom door, Poe poked his head into the hall.

“Luke?” he called, listening to someone shuffling around in the hallway downstairs.

“Good morning!” Luke returned, his voice slightly muffled as it carried up the stairs. “Come down when you’re ready, I have some breakfast things.”

Finn was still staring, and Poe just shrugged, not sure what to make of it either. He wasn’t exactly sure where Luke had slept last night - he’d obviously organised Poe’s clothes (Poe was going to be embarrassed about that for likely forever) and then gone out, but anything else was a mystery. Now, apparently, Luke had brought them breakfast - as if that was a normal thing to do in these situations.

“You wanna go down?” Poe said, as Finn began to untangle himself from the sheets.

“We need some answers,” Finn said, and Poe had to smile at how he was already bouncing back to his usual self. “Also, never turn down a free breakfast.”

“Amen buddy,” Poe said, and they both walked into the hall, Finn grabbing his shoes and carrying them downstairs. Resigned to his own failure as a human being, Poe left his old clothes on the floor, where they clearly belonged.

The kitchen was relatively easy to find, on the ground floor and towards the back of the house. It wasn’t as big as Poe had expected it to be, but it had the same ridiculously old fashioned look as the rest of the house. There wasn’t much decoration, but a lot of copper pots and pans, along with other hanging kitchen utensils that Poe had only ever seen on TV.

Luke was unpacking some shopping bags onto the wooden counter, bread, milk and some croissants in a paper bag. Both Poe and Finn paused in the doorway, completely unable to resist staring - Luke had removed his coat and rolled his shirt sleeves up, revealing that he was also without his gloves. His right hand moved as naturally and fluidly as his left, but it was very obviously made of metal.

Poe felt his heartbeat pick up, and for one irrational moment, wondered if Luke would know they’d looked him up, just from the panic on their faces. The hand was even more fascinating than Rey’s drawings had suggested - it joined perfectly with his wrist, as if the skin just suddenly became metal. Even from here, Poe could see there were little details, like the tips of the fingers were carved to give the impression of nails. It looked just like Luke’s left hand, screaming custom made, and it moved like no piece of technology Poe had ever seen before.

As if sensing he was being stared at, Luke turned, giving them a small, awkward smile.

“Good morning,” he said, his eyes focusing on Finn. “Ah, it’s good to see you’re awake as well. I’m Luke Skywalker,” he said, holding out his left hand for Finn to shake.

Finn looked a bit confused for a moment, but managed to offer his own left hand in return. “Hey, I’m Finn T-”

They were interrupted by a yowling cry, and Poe started as something orange and furry shot towards him.

“BB!” Poe yelped, as the cat leapt into his arms and purred like a steam engine, rubbing her furry cheeks all over Poe’s face and neck. She wasn’t a very big cat, but Poe was almost bowled over, laughing as he wrapped his arms around her.

BB hadn’t been around for a few weeks, and Poe could have cried, he was so happy to see her.

“BB8?” Luke said, and Poe glanced up to find he was being stared at. Finn just looked alarmed, and Luke was considering him with startled interest.

“Oh my god,” Poe said, as BB curled herself around his neck like a stole. “Don’t tell me that BB is your cat?”

“Ah, all right, I won’t” Luke said, his lips twitching into a smile. “Well, technically BB8 doesn’t belong to anyone. I gather she’s made herself known to you?”

Poe nodded, feeling the deep rumble of BB’s purr resonate along his shoulders. “She comes to our house all the time, just sneaks in through the window.” Poe said, reeling a little.

Of all the things that had happened in the last 24 hours, this was what he found the hardest to deal with. Poe had always thought of BB as _his_ cat, as nonsensical as that was, since the first time she’d crawled in through his window. Why it upset him to think of BB belonging to someone else, least of all Luke, he couldn’t say, but the feeling persisted.

BB seemed unaware of his turmoil, content to watch the world from his shoulders as she purred away. Luke was studying him intently, a focused, thoughtful look on his face. Heat began to climb up Poe’s neck at an alarming rate, and he had to look away, his face flushing.

“I see…” Luke said, pressing a metal finger to his lip.

“I don’t,” Finn said at last, looking between them. “How is it your cat keeps coming into Poe’s house all the time? That can’t be a coincidence.”

“It could be,” Luke replied, tilting his head. “Or maybe not. I think you’d better sit down, if we’re going to discuss this.”

Luke herded Poe and Finn to sit at the breakfast table, both of them too shell shocked to protest. In short order, Luke had some steaming cups of tea and coffee set before them, along with jam, butter, and freshly baked croissants. It was surreal, like being served at a very intimate cafe, BB purring into Poe’s neck the whole time.

They ate in contemplative silence whilst Luke put out some cat food. There were three bowls, instead of one - that was all Poe noticed, as he was busy downing as much of the coffee as humanly possible. It was divine; why the hell did Luke bother with hot chocolate in a shitty theatre cafe, when he could make coffee like _this_? Finally Luke finished pottering around and sat at the end of the table, facing both of them with his own breakfast untouched in front of him.

“I know you both probably have a lot of questions,” he began, and Poe saw Finn’s eyebrows practically raise up to his hairline. He was really glad he managed to resist the ‘no shit Sherlock’ that was clearly begging to be let out. “I’ll try to answer them the best that I can, so bear with me.” Luke said, clasping his hands on the table in front of him.

Poe couldn’t have said how he knew exactly, but he suddenly had an inkling that Luke was nervous. It was very subtle; he thought he could see it in the way Luke clasped his hands together on the table, his left hand holding his metal hand tightly. Strangely, it made Poe feel a bit better about the situation. Luke always seemed to have the upper hand, whenever Poe met him. He was strong, fast, had unbelieveable powers - but he seemed to be nervous when faced with talking about them? It was, Poe thought, kind of endearing.

Tearing his eyes away from Luke’s hands, Poe looked up to find Luke studying them. His eyes were sliding between them, as if trying to gauge their reactions ahead of time.

“What happened last night?” Poe blurted out, unable to hold it in any longer. Luke settled his gaze on Poe, his lips turning up in a small smile.

“I think I’d better start at the beginning,” Luke said, and Poe nodded in reply, flushing. “However, I don’t tell you any of this lightly. What I am about to say you must not leave this room,” he began, his face growing serious. Both Finn and Poe looked at each other, as Luke watched them expectantly. Belatedly, Poe realised he was waiting for a reply.

“We can keep a secret, right Finn?” Poe said, nudging Finn under the table. But Finn was already nodding eagerly, eyes wide as he leaned forward in his seat.

Luke seemed satisfied. “I have worked my entire life to uphold the secrets of my teachers and their teachers before them. If the knowledge I have gets into the wrong hands… well, you’ve already seen the consequences for yourself.”

Poe and Finn stared at Luke, then at each other, not quite sure what to say.

“You mean like… controlling people?” Finn said, his eyes going round. “Can you do that?”

“No,” Luke’s answer was so vehement, it took Poe by surprise. “I would never - but we’re getting ahead of ourselves,” he said, taking a deep breath. Luke seemed to be steeling himself, clasping his hands tightly and looking down at the table before he spoke.

“The world,” he began, “the universe as you know it is held together by something called the Force. It’s an energy, that connects all things, and flows through us all.” Luke explained, his voice taking on a soft, reverent quality. “My order, the Jedi, have trained for thousands of years to harness it. We use the Force to try and bring about peace and balance in the world.”

Luke let his words sink in for a moment. It sounded similar to something Poe had heard about Eastern beliefs, but he’d never considered something like this might be real.

Another thought occurred to him, as Luke paused. “I’m… guessing you’re still trying?” Poe hedged, because he definitely would have heard about it if peace and balance had been brought to the world.

Luke nodded, a wistful expression crossing his face. “We always are. There were never very many of us, or their haven’t been. Not for a very long time. I am one of the last Jedi.” he said, sadness clouding his eyes. Poe thought they looked very blue, as Luke’s gaze became unfocused. “The Jedi use the Force to defend the helpless, help the lost, and bring justice to those who need it. But the Force is just a tool.”

Finn nodded along thoughtfully, hanging on to Luke’s every word. “But... a tool can be used by anyone.”

“Exactly,” Luke said, refocusing on Finn. “Some… have been known to use the Force to increase their own power. They can drain the lifeforce of a living person, or steal it, and twist it to their will.”

Poe shuddered, his mind recalling again the terrible voice that had come out of Finn’s mouth, last night. “Was that what attacked us?” he asked, although he could guess at the answer. BB chose that moment to slide down into his lap, and Poe put his hands on her fur, taking comfort from her gentle rumbling.

Luke considered his answer, his lips thinning. “What attacked you last night was a sort of twisted spirit. Some Force users will take the lifeforce of someone recently dead, who hasn’t fully crossed over yet, and craft it into something unnatural.”

“Like a ghost?” Finn said, looking a little unwell. That twisted spirit had been inside him last night, doing god knows what, and it was obvious Finn was thinking about that.

“A ghost is an impression left in the Force. It’s almost the same thing, but not quite.” Luke said, sitting back in his chair. “It’s probably best you don’t know too much. I’ll make sure you won’t have to worry about it again.”

“What do you mean by that?” Poe said, pursing his lips in thought. It all sounded absolutely fantastical, and Poe wanted to know more, even if Luke was reluctant to tell them.

“I’ll give you both a talisman. It’ll make sure you can’t be targeted,” Luke looked away then, and Poe had the distinct feeling that they were about to be dismissed. Undeterred, he wracked his brain for more questions to keep Luke talking.

“Why did they target Finn? You said last night that you thought something like this was going to happen,” Poe said, his eyes brightening as memory suddenly returned to him. “How did you know that?”

Luke sighed, a long suffering sound. Poe watched him carefully - had Luke wanted to avoid that question? He certainly seemed reluctant to answer now, his mouth pressing together in a thin line.

“Poe, and Finn… I can only apologise for that,” he said, looking between them. “It's just that - I have many enemies. You can’t really be a Jedi without them,” he added, smiling tightly. “I can only guess that someone was following me, and saw you and I talking.” He looked at Poe then, his eyes apologetic. “I shouldn’t have - I shouldn’t have gotten you involved in this.”

Something clenched inside Poe, an uncomfortable knot forming in his stomach. He could get what Luke wasn’t saying - someone had assumed they were friends, and gone after Finn and Poe to get to Luke. The regret in Luke’s face was the most painful to see, and Poe wondered unhappily if Luke regretted even talking to him in the first place.

“Mr Skywalker,” Finn started, making Luke visibly cringe. Poe smothered an amused smile - Finn was 100% in police mode now, leaning his elbows on the table like he was interviewing a key witness. “Shit happens, you know? And we’re okay now, thanks to you,” Finn said, giving Luke a small nod. “But you can’t really take any of this back. We’re not exactly going to forget all this happened, and just like, get on with our lives.”

“I’m not saying you should forget,” Luke countered, crossing his arms. “But you shouldn’t have to worry about any of this. It was my carelessness that got you into this in the first place,” he said, wincing. “I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“How can you though?” Finn said, sitting back and mirroring Luke’s pose. It was like the sizing up before a prize winning fight, and Poe could only stare - half in amusement, and half in horror. “What happens when that thing comes after someone else we know, to get to you? How often do you have to defend yourself from attack like that anyway? That’s no way to live.”

Finn had a good point. If this sort of thing happened to Luke all the time, how did he live without always looking over his shoulder? Poe felt like the explanation they’d been given was very simple - too simple almost, as if Luke was only scratching the surface of a much bigger picture.

Poe knew he should have felt scared witless by the possibilities of the Force and everything that went with it - he certainly had been, last night. But the more Luke explained, the more a strange sense of excitement grew inside him. Not excitement exactly; perhaps anticipation was a better word. Anticipation, and purpose.

Nodding in agreement with Finn, Poe jumped in; “Finn’s right, Luke. What if we could help? We should be able to return the favour.”

“I’m sorry, but this isn’t up for discussion,” Luke said, his eyes flaring. There was an irritating note of finality in his voice. “You’ll be far safer away from me, especially with the talismans I can get you. Your friends will be fine,” he assured them.

“You said you used to train people,” Poe argued, stubbornly digging his heels in. “Wouldn’t we be safer if we knew how to defend ourselves?”

Luke was still so frustratingly mysterious, even after everything he’d told them. Poe wanted to know why he was so reluctant to let them in, even though he had this nagging sense that this was _right_. They were supposed to be here, with Luke, learning all of this - Luke had said he was the last Jedi, but Poe was certain that could change, if Luke was willing to train them.

“Poe, I…” Luke said, his determined expression wavering. “I don’t train people anymore,” he said, unable to meet Poe’s eyes. “You don’t understand what you’re asking for. Both of you will be far safer away from me - and all this.”

“You could explain it to us,” Poe said. Luke had cracked, just for a moment - Poe was willing to bet he could wear him down, given enough time.

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?” Luke said, in what sounded suspiciously like a whine. He was giving Poe a long suffering look, and both Poe and Finn grinned, equally willing to out stubborn Luke. “Look - both of you stop looking at me like that,” he said, and that only made them grin harder. “I’m not promising anything, but I will need both of you to come back. It’ll take me a few days to make the talismans.”

“We’ll have a good argument by then,” Finn promised, and Poe was delighted to have him onboard with the idea. If they were going to do this together, then wearing Luke down would be that much easier. He hadn’t given them a real reason why he couldn’t train them, so whatever was holding him back, they’d find out sooner or later. Re-enthused, Poe finished his coffee, just as Luke hinted that it was time for them to go.

Despite Luke clearly wanting to kick them out, Poe didn’t feel unwelcome. Perhaps because Luke had told them to come back, but that wasn’t entirely it either. Luke was looking at him with that warm, indulgent expression again - when Finn bolted upstairs to get his shoes, Poe hung back a moment, scooping BB into his arms as he stood. She wriggled until she was comfortable, and Poe looked down at her - it was easier than looking at Luke, who’s warm gaze was still on him.

“I know we’ve kind of… stumbled into your life, but I think we really could help,” Poe said, into BB’s furry head. Luke didn’t speak for a moment, still sitting in his seat as he assessed Poe.

“I’d rather you were safe,” Luke admitted, “My world isn’t one you can take on lightly. It’s a huge commitment, a lifetime of self discipline. You should be out doing... things that young people do.” Luke said. Poe looked up to catch his wistful smile.

“I’m not that young, you know.” he said, making a face. “You can’t be more than 15 years older than me. Or does the Force make you look unnaturally young?” Poe added, momentarily alarmed that that might be a thing.

Luke actually laughed, draining some of the intensity from the room. “Sadly not. I’m 45. You can’t be 30.” he said, standing and half-heartedly stacking up the breakfast plates.

“Guilty as charged,” Poe said, reluctantly setting BB down on his chair, as her wriggling gained claws. She began to clean herself, just as two more odd looking cats strolled into the room. A golden, striped cat and a short legged, blue persian made their way over to him, their luminous eyes inspecting him curiously.

“Ah, I wondered where you two had got to. This is Threepio and Artoo.” Luke said, some more tension draining from his face as he smiled at the cats. They had that same intelligent gleam in their eyes as BB, and Poe crouched down to let them sniff and rub at his hand.

“You’re really bad at naming things,” Poe said, the words out of his mouth before he could stop them. Instead of being offended, Luke looked slightly flushed, and Poe grinned. It made something warm clench in his guts, as the cats lost interest and wandered over to their food.

“It was just the serial numbers on their chips,” Luke muttered, stacking up their breakfast things on the sink. Poe wanted to offer to help, but he watched Luke instead, drinking in the sight of him moving around his own space, the light catching on his metal hand. Finn walked back in at that moment, and rather than be caught staring like an idiot, Poe said the first thing that came into his head.

“ _Is_ it a coincidence that BB keeps coming to my house?” he asked, as Luke turned to walk them to the front door.

“BB and the other cats can sense the Force,” Luke said, giving Poe a look that made heat flush all the way up his back. “They’re usually attracted to people with an affinity for it. Either that or she just likes you.” he said, which wasn’t an answer, but Poe was distracted by the warm, knowing smile Luke was giving him.

“I always knew that cat was weird,” Finn said, handing Poe his clothes. He’d almost forgotten them again, Luke’s clothes already feeling perfectly normal on him.

“I’ll bring your clothes back,” Poe said, battling with his flush as Luke unlatched the door and let them through. “Thank you for… well, everything.” he said, awkwardly standing in the threshold of the house, Finn right beside him.

“No need for that. Bring them on Saturday, around midday - I’ll have your talismans ready by then. In the meantime, stay safe,” Luke said, his face growing serious. “Don’t forgot what I’ve said - all of this must remain between us. Understood?”

Both of them nodded quickly, and when Luke finally bid them farewell and shut the door, Finn rounded on Poe.

“We need to tell Rey,” he said, and Poe didn’t hesitate.

“She will literally murder us if we don’t. Come on buddy.” With that, they both headed side by side to the nearest Tube station, an undercurrent of new, unfathomable knowledge burning between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, I'm sorry this took so long! This chapter was really hard to write (I don't even know why - talking about the Force is hard?) plus work has been really busy. More stuff was supposed to happen, but I've saved that for next chapter XD thanks everyone who's been reading so far! I appriciate all the comments and kudos <3


	6. I like this one, she’s smart.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Rey exploded, practically slamming her hands down on the kitchen table.

Poe flinched in surprise, glancing quickly over at Finn. He looked equally stunned, and Poe couldn’t really blame him - Rey was absolutely livid with them; which was _not_ how he’d expected her to react at all.

In retrospect, he and Finn could have been a bit more tactful with their delivery. They had pounced on Rey as soon as she’d come home from work, herding her to the kitchen table with a cup of tea. Rey had barely gotten a word in as they’d poured out the whole story, and now she looked like she was ready to throttle them both.

“Um, we’re really not,” Finn tried. He spoke carefully, looking across at Poe for reassurance. Poe could only shrug helplessly, not sure what to say - Rey looked like she was about to explode again at any moment, her jaw clenched tightly. “I know it sounds completely fucked up, but that’s what happened.”

“Completely fucked up?” Rey repeated, incredulous. “That’s one word for it. Bloody hell!”

Thrown by the vehemence of her reaction, Poe wrecked his brain for anything he could say to calm her down, when suddenly she rounded on him. “Poe, what the hell were you thinking? You don’t know anything about this guy, and you just go off with him?” she demanded, giving him a hard look. “Did he give you something?”

“What?” Poe snapped, dismayed. “Luke didn’t give us any _drugs_ , Rey!”

Finn looked ill at the prospect, shaking his head. “We haven't taken anything, I swear to you. You know I would never,” Finn said, crestfallen. Rey had good grace to look contrite about suggesting it, wincing at Finn’s words.

“I know, I'm sorry,” Rey apologised, although Poe didn’t think she didn’t look any less displeased. She put a hand to her forehead, a rough noise escaping her. “I shouldn’t have said that, but fuck, what am I supposed to think?”

Poe felt equally as frustrated, and something else - something that felt suspiciously like shame prickling at the back of his neck. He had to look away from her heavy expression, frowning down at the kitchen table instead.

Rey was normally the calm, level headed one - with an unpleasant jolt, Poe realised he had been depending on her to be calmly accepting, and now she wasn’t, it left him floundering a bit. They really hadn’t thought too carefully about how Rey would feel about any of this.

In Poe’s mind, it had all seemed quite simple. They would tell Rey, and then she would be part of this crazy little world with them. It had just seemed like the right thing to do - they’d been so caught up in everything that had happened since yesterday, they’d barely stopped for breath.

“I’m sorry too,” Poe said, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “I know this is mental, but you have to believe us. We wouldn’t make something like this up.”

“I do believe you, that’s the problem,” Rey said, huffing. She glanced between them, and her eyes flashing with anger. “But what do you expect me to do? And why haven’t you called the police about this?” she asked, shooting a look at Finn.

“And tell them what exactly?” Finn said, starting to sound annoyed himself. “They'd ask the same thing as you, expect I'd probably lose my job and they'd lock us both up in the looney bin.” He said, gesturing between himself and Poe.

“Shit Finn,” Poe said, a heavy weight settling in his stomach. “I hadn’t even thought of that.”

Poe could have kicked himself, he felt so stupid. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t tell anyone other than his best friends, but Finn was a police officer. It was obvious he had already quietly accepted that he couldn’t tell anyone at work, but that didn’t stop Poe from feeling like a selfish prat. All he had to do was make coffee; Finn had to walk into the station tomorrow, knowing all this was out there, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Not unless Luke agreed to train them, that is.

Ashamed, Poe felt his cheeks heat. He had been excited to tell Rey because he, rather selfishly, wanted her to be on board with this. If she knew about it, then she could help them convince Luke to train them. He hadn’t even thought about what Finn might be risking, even just talking about it.

Now Poe was glad he hadn't mentioned the training part. Rey already seemed to think Luke was some kind of psycho - that thought made hot defensiveness flare up inside him, but Poe managed to squash the feeling down. It was really time to starting thinking before he opened his big, irresponsible mouth.

Reluctantly, Poe was willing to admit to himself that she was partly right; they really didn't know that much about Luke, or the Force. It was so frustrating, because Poe couldn’t find the words to express how trustworthy he _knew_ Luke was. The feeling was strong; even as Poe’s face prickled with heat at the thought of Luke, he felt sure it wasn’t just his attraction colouring his opinion. He just had to convince Rey that.

“I can’t believe you’ve told me all this,” Rey said, looking a bit lost now. “What are we supposed to do now? We all have normal bloody jobs we have to get back to, without having to worry about all this.”

Poe felt another stab in his gut, meeting Rey’s unhappy gaze. Her words mirrored exactly what he’d just been thinking. Then Finn, of course, had to go and make it worse.

“Well… we weren’t really supposed to tell anyone.” Finn admitted, his eyes darting guiltily away. “Luke asked us not to.”

“Oh my god,” Rey groaned, burying her face in her hands. “I cannot believe you two. What do you think he’s going to do, when he finds out?” she asked, her palms muffling her voice.

Poe shifted in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable. He felt like he’d kept too much from his friends recently, and Finn had agreed that they absolutely couldn’t keep this from Rey. But now they’d told her, they would have to tell Luke; Poe felt an unpleasant prickle of panic at the thought of Luke’s reaction. Yet another thing he foolishly hadn’t considered, and now Luke was going to be angry with them too.

“I don’t know,” Poe sighed, at last. “He’ll probably be mad.”

“That’s exactly my point!” Rey threw her hands up, waves of frustration pouring off her. “You don’t know how he’ll react. You don’t know anything about him. He could have set all this up, for all you know,” she pointed out, and Poe bristled.

“He could have, but I doubt it,” Poe argued, his defensiveness flaring. “Why would he go through so much effort to help us, for a set up? He didn’t want us to get involved, he made that pretty clear.”

“If it was some kind of trick, what does he get out of it?” Finn added, a thoughtful look on his face.

Finn was clearly looking for a motive, the police part of his brain taking over. Poe couldn’t help a little grateful smile - he was glad that Finn still seemed to be on Luke’s side; it made him feel less crazy, for wanting to trust Luke as much as he did.

“I don’t bloody know,” Rey said, crossing her arms and looking mullish. “You’ve both got to be careful though, until you know for sure. Are you actually going to go back?”

“Yes,” Poe stated, leaning his elbows on the table. “Luke said he’s going to give us some talismans, for protection.”

Even as he said it, he shot a glance at Finn, remembering why they were being given them in the first place. Finn had explained, rather haltingly, about what if felt like to be possessed - that was the one thing that had truly horrified Rey, and even Poe had to suppress a shudder at the memory.

They’d really mucked up explaining this to her. Poe suppressed a groan - he felt a bit like banging his head on the table, but that wasn’t going to fix this. Rey wasn’t even being unreasonable, not really, but that didn’t make him feel any better.

“I think I should go with you,” Rey said suddenly, breaking Poe from his frustrated thoughts.

“What?” Finn said, surprised. “But… then he’ll know we’ve told you.”

“Yeah well, he’s just going to have to deal with that,” Rey replied, determined.

“Are you sure?” Poe asked, staring at her now. He had wanted Rey to go along with them, but not quite so literally. He hadn't really thought they would need to tell Luke, not until much later at any rate.  Now Luke really was going to kill them; Poe could even picture the disappointment on his face, and it filled him with no small amount of dread.

“Yeah,” Rey said, nodding firmly. “At least I can make sure you two aren’t getting in over your heads. Luke was a lot more fun when he was just a cyborg,” she added, making a face.

Finn snorted at that, and Poe elbowed him in the ribs, feeling his face flush. “He’s still a cyborg, but now we know he’s a ninja wizard as well,” Finn said, slightly amused.

“It’s Jedi, actually,” Poe said, annoyance flashing through him. If they were going to do this, the least they could do was get the title right.

-

Just as Rey had predicted, going back to work was extremely strange. To say Poe felt uncomfortable was a bit of an understatement. His head kept buzzing with this new, secret knowledge, and waiting for the weekend was driving him to distraction. Poe thought he did a pretty good job of pretending everything was fine, but not everyone was fooled. Jess could tell something was off with him; Poe felt awful for deflecting her, but what else could he do?

Rey was still mad at them, although it had burned off to a simmer. She wasn’t avoiding him or making passive aggressive comments - Poe liked Rey because she always dealt with things head on, but things still felt a bit awkward between them. Poe hated it; rationally he knew she was still trying to process everything they’d told her, but that didn’t make him feel much better.

When Saturday did finally arrive, a bright autumn sun hovered above London. Poe noticed that Rey had styled her hair into a severe bun, looking as if she were readying herself for a serious job interview. She was quiet for the whole journey; the low tension was still between them, and it left Poe itching to get this over with. He wanted Rey to see Luke, to really _see_ him, and understand why he’d been so adamant that she be part of this.

Finn met them inside Kensington tube station, more quiet and thoughtful than usual. The area around the tube station was busy - men, women and children swarming like ants as they made their way to the various museums around Kensington. Rey walked bracketed between Poe and Finn, the three of them falling into step as they broke away from the crowd and headed towards a more residential area, the streets gradually emptying of other people.

Luke’s street was like something pulled straight out of the Victorian era. Trees lined the road, exploding with oranges and browns that lit up the pale houses. The buildings themselves were tall and imposing, long windows going up several stories. Each one was fronted by a metal fence, with colorfully tiled paths leading to the doors - not like Poe’s rented house, which had a concrete front garden populated by some bins. Luke hadn’t commented on the state of his living arrangement the one time he’d seen it, but Poe flinched at the memory all the same - nothing about his house compared to these immaculately maintained giants.

Luke’s own house was just as grand as all the others, and for a moment, Poe felt daunted by the prospect of going up to it. It really hit home that Luke was from a different world, in more ways than one. The house hadn’t seemed as big a deal in the dark, but now Poe was forced to consider that Luke was possibly way, way out of his league. Swallowing, he tried to push those thoughts aside and stay focused. They were here for a very different reason than Poe’s really ridiculous crush.

As they stopped in front of house, Finn was the one who opened the gate; they all piled inside the tiny front terrace, standing awkwardly by the door. Poe realised both his friends were staring at him expectantly. Sighing, he reached up and knocked - Poe couldn’t help holding his breath as they waited, his insides tingling with nerves and anticipation.

It seemed to take an age, but when the door finally opened, Poe stood up straight, readying himself. Luke’s steely blue eyes took in the three of them with only a flicker of surprise, a small frown forming on his lips.

“She knows,” Poe blurted out, before Luke could say anything.

Even though Poe had braced himself for it, the anger that flashed in Luke’s eyes was still a surprise. “When I said don’t tell anyone,” he began, his voice low. “You did understand what that meant, right?

Luke stepped into the doorway of the house, blocking the entrance hall. He was wearing his coat and gloves, as if he’d just been about to step out when they arrived. Poe noticed he had a new umbrella hooked over his arm, this one also black, but with a plastic handle - he still felt bad about not going back for the other one, but there was nothing he could do about that now.

Luke also looked supremely unimpressed; Poe felt like he wanted to take a step back and apologise, but he managed to get a hold of himself.

“Luke, this is Rey,” Poe said, taking a deep breath. “We live together, we’ve all known each other for years.” Luke’s expression shuttered as he spoke, and Poe felt the speech he’d prepared just fly right out of his mind. The closed off look on Luke’s face made Poe’s stomach flop unpleasantly, and he cast about for something else to say. “We couldn’t keep this from her.” He finished lamely, his palms sweating as Luke continued to stare at them.

“We know how important this is,” Finn cut in, crossing his bulky arms across his chest. “But we’re a family. We don’t keep things from each other.”

Blinking, Poe looked across at Finn. He hadn’t expected him to say something like that, and Poe felt unexpectedly touched by his words. From the look on Finn’s face, Poe knew he meant it too - they’d all thought it, but it was really the first time one of them had said it out loud. Reacting on instinct, Poe took Rey’s hand, giving it a small squeeze. She squeezed back, and Poe could almost feel a little of the tension between them dissolve, as Luke looked between them with a heavy gaze.

“I put a lot of trust in both of you,” Luke said, his frown still in place, “answering your questions.”

The disappointment in his voice made Poe swallow heavily; that was almost worse than the anger, which was still simmering under the surface of Luke’s closed off expression. Throat dry, Poe gave him what he hoped was a beseeching look.

“We know that.” Poe said, quiet and regretful. Not for telling Rey - but for putting that grave, disappointed look on Luke’s face. “But we know Rey, and she won’t betray your trust, and neither will we.” He ached to reach out and touch Luke, just to reassure him they were sincere; something in Luke’s expression made him keep his distance though.

Poe swallowed heavily - if he thought that telling Rey the truth had been bad, this was infinitely worse. At least he knew that Rey would eventually forgive him; he’d never seen Luke angry before, and Poe desperately wanted him to know that they meant well, he had no idea how to do that. He was left feeling wrong footed, and Poe’s gut churned as he worried he’d really messed this up.

After a beat of silence, Rey let go of Poe’s hand and stepped forwards. “If it helps,” she said, “I would have gotten it out of them eventually.” Luke eyed her then, and she gave him a searching look in return. “I’m Rey. I asked them to let me come, because I’m not sure if we should trust you, to be frank.”

“Rey,” Poe hissed, mildly horrified.

Rey didn’t spare him a glance, and Poe continued to have an anxious meltdown as she regarded Luke with a stern expression. “But believe me when I say you can trust these two idiots, despite what you might think.”

Rey and Luke stared at each other for a charged moment. Heat began to climb up Poe’s neck, and he shivered, all the hairs on his arms standing on end. There was a strange static feeling in the air, like electricity. Poe watched in interest as Rey reached up to touch the back of her own neck, a strange expression crossing her face.

Just like that, the feeling was gone - Luke broke the moment with a  frustrated breath, pinching the bridge of his nose with a gloved hand. Looking up, his eyes swept across all three of them.

“I know.” Luke sighed. Poe was still wondering what the hell had just happened - he hadn’t imagined that, had he? He glanced at Finn to see if he’d sensed it too, but then Luke was speaking again. “That doesn’t change the fact that you broke a promise.” Luke said sternly, making them all wince. “Now Rey will also need to be under my protection.”

None of them would need to be under Luke’s protection if he’d just train them - Poe didn’t dare voice that thought though, not whilst Luke still had that hard, flinty look in his eyes.

In the next moment, Luke’s face had gone back to his normal, placid expression - but Poe could still tell he was angry with them. It was like a rolling boil, just under the surface, sending a prickly sensation up Poe’s back. Licking his lip, Poe searched for something to say. He’d truly, royally messed this up.

“We’re sorry about that,” Poe said, his face hot. “We didn’t mean to betray your trust, it’s just… we’re all very important to each other.” Luke’s expression didn’t change, and Poe found he couldn’t meet his eyes anymore, looking guiltily at the floor.

“I might not like it,” Luke admitted. His voice sounded very close to Poe’s ear, forcing him to suppress a very different kind of shudder. “But I understand why.” Turning on his heel, Luke offered a hand to Rey. “Rey, my name is Luke Skywalker.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Rey said, quickly switching to her left hand when Luke offered his.

Rey was giving Luke a speculative look, and Poe would have paid good money to know what she was thinking right then. She didn’t seem overly charmed by him, but then she wasn’t telling them to run for the hills either. Poe had known her for a long time though - she was still watching, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Right,” Luke said, sharply. Poe started in surprise as he snapped his front door shut. “Let’s go then. I suppose you had better all come, since you’re here,” he said, looking pointedly at Rey.

Looking at each other in confusion, the three of them scuttled backwards as Luke sweep past. He led them back into the street, and they scrambled to catch up with his swift pace.

“Where are we going?” Finn asked, practically stepping on Luke’s heels to keep up with him.

“To pick up your talismans,” Luke replied, tucking his umbrella under his arm. Luke wouldn’t even look at them as he spoke, his posture stiff. Looking down at the floor, Poe felt like a lead weight had settled in his stomach. He had no idea how to fix this; he wouldn’t take back telling Rey, and even though Luke said he understood, they had still broken his trust. Why did Poe have to spectacularly screw up everything good in his life? It was a talent he really wished he didn’t have.

“You’re going to need one as well,” Luke carried on, glancing briefly at Rey. “Unfortunately, they take a little time to make.”

Poe wanted to ask more, but it felt like Luke had pulled a wall around himself. They walked in silence towards the main high street in Kensington, while Poe stole glances at Luke’s rigid profile. Neither Finn nor Rey tried to start a conversation, walking quietly side by side with Poe and Luke in front.

He wasn’t sure how he’d ended up walking next to Luke, but it intensified the heavy, confused feelings inside him. Luke didn’t glance back at him once; Poe bit his lip, feeling foolish. Perhaps they should have asked Luke’s permission to tell Rey, but it was too late now – what if Luke thought they were too irresponsible to learn more? That thought made Poe’s mood blacken, and he subjected the floor to his glare as they continued along the pavement.

The high street seemed to be populated with only cafes and estate agents; people were milling around with ice-creams, amazed by how sunny it was in October. Luke led them past all that and took them to a much more shadowed side street, where the people thinned out.

They came up to a closed restaurant, with brown, dusty looking shutters. ‘Cantina’ was written in orange letters across the glass front, all the outside tables and chairs stacked neatly against the wall. Luke paused beside the entrance, stepping up to a dark green door that Poe only just noticed. It had ‘Kenobi Antiques’ written across it in faded, gold letters, with a long list of typical items for sale.

“Is this where you work?” Poe asked, the words out before he could stop them. Luke pushed the door open, revealing a wooden staircase leading up to the next level.

“Not that often,” Luke replied quietly, ushering them inside. “I’m just the erstwhile owner.” His lips twitched into a small, mysterious smile, before he let the door shut behind them.

The staircase was narrow and dim; they walked up in single file, the wooden boards creaking alarmingly under their feet. It wasn’t dirty, but as they climbed higher, Poe could smell something musty – similar to the smell of curtains, heavy with dust. The staircase finally opened into a large, shadowed room, which was absolutely crammed with all manner of things.

If there was some order to it, it was beyond Poe’s ability to comprehend. Even Finn and Rey had wide eyes as they looked around, taking in the old furniture. All available floor space was covered in wooden tables, upholstered chairs and elegant chaise lounges. Pressed against the walls were oak wardrobes and glass cabinets; every single surface was littered with all manner of knickknacks, most of the gleaming in the low light. There were bowls, cases of jewellery, china vases; Poe could even see old metal tools on wall racks, and what looked like a collection of swords on another. That drew his eye, but none of them looked anything like Luke’s polished sabre.

Weak light streamed in from the large, frosted windows at the front of the building. It was absolutely dead silent, the mountains of stuff seeming to suck in all the sound. None of them said anything - the atmosphere was even more oppressive than it had been outside. Finn had already walked forward to poke at some odd toys, and Rey was looking at a porcelain vase with interest. Poe watched Luke make a beeline across the huge room, heading for a counter at the far end.

Not knowing what else to do, Poe followed him. All the stuff looked clean enough, but something about the fact that it had once belonged to people (who were most certainly now dead), made Poe jam his hands into his pockets. The musty smell, mixed with the tang of metal and furniture polish, made his nose itch.

Luke had stopped in front of the wide counter; Poe studied his profile for a moment, wondering if he should say something. Now would be the perfect moment, whilst Finn and Rey were distracted. He could walk up to Luke and apologise again, perhaps say something funny to take that awful closed look off Luke’s face. Heart hammering nervously against his chest, Poe steeled himself. He could do this; he couldn’t waste any opportunity to square things up with Luke.

Just as he was about to step forward and open his mouth, Poe started in surprise. He hadn’t noticed there was a woman behind the counter; she was leveling Luke with a pointed stare, her big, round glasses seeming to fill up her whole face.

“Maz, good afternoon,” Luke said, offering a smile.

“Luke Skywalker, you are late.” She said crossly. Poe was normally good with accents, but he couldn’t quite place hers; her words were sharp and well enunciated though, like she’d gone to a posh school. To Poe’s amazement, her comment actually made Luke look sheepish.

“I was a little held up,” Luke admitted, glancing at Poe. Not sure if he was being blamed or not, Poe kept quiet, carefully moving to stand beside Luke. “Are they ready?” Luke asked, laying his umbrella on the counter.

Maz sniffed. “Yes. Lucky for you I am able to keep to a deadline,” the look she gave him was positively withering.

Poe tried to smother his smile. Maz was terrifying, but he thought she might grow on him, especially if she kept making Luke squirm like that. As they spoke, Poe heard muted footsteps behind them, and half turned to see Finn and Rey approach. His heart was still fluttering nervously against his chest, and Poe glanced at Luke, biting his lip. He’d missed his chance to apologise, but if he waited until they were finished with Maz, he could try again.

Maz was reaching when under the counter when Poe glanced back; she pulled out three flocked jewellery boxes, placing them neatly in a row. They were too big to be ring boxes, and when she flipped them open in turn, each revealed a necklace.

They were simple gold looking chains, each with a little round medallion at the end. Intrigued, Poe leaned forward to study one. At first he thought the picture inside was a bird, or a crescent moon on its side – tilting his head, he saw it neither of those things. There was a crescent at the bottom, with a tapered line protruding from the middle. The line ended with three little flicks, like a triangular flower bud, but whatever that meant was a mystery to Poe.

“There are three,” Luke said, raising an eyebrow.

“Correct.” Maz replied, resting her hands on the counter. “You said two, but the Force assured me you would need three.” There was a certain smugness to her expression, as she put her hands on her hips. “It seems I was right to listen.”

“Are you a Jedi?” Finn asked, a hint of awe in his voice.

Maz snorted at that, lifting up a necklace without ceremony and shoving it towards a surprised Finn. “The Jedi are not the only ones who know how to use the Force, although they like to think so.”

“We’re well aware of other Force users, Maz.” Luke protested, a smile tugging at his lips.

Poe had to look away; he knew Luke was still mad at them, but that tiny smile made his heart give a painful little jump. He didn’t want Luke to catch him staring like an idiot.

“I recognise this!” Rey gasped, picking up a necklace. She held it aloft in the dim light, letting it dangle in front of her face. “That’s the symbol my company uses, I’m sure of it. It’s on our building.”

All of them looked at her in surprise. Embarrassed, Poe realized he should have recognised it too – it was on all the letters that Rey received from work, stamped in the corner. Licking his lip, Poe picked up his own necklace and studied the symbol, to hide the expression on his face. Rey’s company was where Luke got his hand; there was no way that this symbol being the same was a coincidence.

“You work for Rebel limited?” Luke asked, pulling Poe from his thoughts.

A sudden, horrible thought occurred to him – if Luke knew that Rey worked for Rebel ltd, would he find out about them researching his hand behind his back? Momentary panic mingled with shame made him almost drop the necklace, and Poe made an unsuccessful attempt to control his flush.

“Um, yes?” Rey carried on, unaware of Poe’s minor panic. “I’m a robotics engineer.”

Luke only smiled, seemingly pleased. “What a small world we live in. My sister is CEO of Rebel limited.” He admitted, holding out his hand to examine Rey’s necklace.

She lowered it so Luke could see it, surprise written across her face. “Leia Organa is your sister?” she said, her eyes darting over to Poe. He wondered if she was thinking the same as him; Poe kept his face carefully blank as Luke turned the necklace over in his gloved hand.

“She is, we’re twins actually,” Luke said, seeming satisfied as he finished inspecting the necklace.

It was the first time Luke had mentioned anything about his own life, and Poe felt like a greedy hoarder, tucking that information away in his mind. Rey looked deeply puzzled, but Poe felt alight with that same certainness that had been with him since he’d first met Luke. It wasn’t a coincidence that Rey worked for Rebel ltd. Somehow, without them knowing it, they were all connected to Luke - Poe _knew_ he had been right to tell her, feeling like the pieces of a puzzle were slotting into place around him.

It made him almost giddy, the intensity of Luke’s anger fading to the back of his mind. This was _right_ , was all he could think, clutching the talisman in his hand and daring to glance up at Luke. Poe was filled with the most peculiar sense of anticipation, like deja vu, but not quite.

Something about about to happen; the dust drifting in the air seemed to freeze for a moment, as if waiting.

“You are not very knowledgeable about your students, Master Luke,” Maz said, breaking the stillness. She was raising a slim eyebrow at Luke - Poe felt his heart give a little thump against his chest, and he watched their interaction with interest.

Suddenly looking very awkward, Luke slid his gaze away from Maz.

“They are not my students, Maz,” Luke admitted. Both Finn and Rey were watching the conversation now too, their talismans clutched in their hands.

Until then, Maz had looked only mildly annoyed by their presence. Now, Luke’s words seemed to have a different effect on her. Her nostrils flared, and her face creased with such abject fury that Poe almost took a step backwards.

“What,” Maz stated, her hands gripping the counter. “Is the meaning of this?” she glared at Luke, her eyes flashing. “You mean to tell me that you have been given you three –three! – young people strong with the Force, and you are not training them?”

Stunned, Poe shared a look with Finn and Rey, both of them looking equally surprised. He wanted to jump in and say something, but Luke was already talking, as if the three of them weren’t even there.

“Maz, it’s not that simple, and you know it.” Luke was annoyed now, but Poe was almost there was a note of regret in his voice. “I don’t train students anymore.”

“Force damn you!” Maz spat, making Poe jump. “Your master would be ashamed of you. Luke Skywalker not train students? Pah! You are a disgrace.”

“Now look here,” Luke said frostily. His anger was at the surface again, his eyes hard as he stared down Maz. “You don’t get to scold me, Maz Kanata. You know what happened after Ben-”

Luke cut himself off, making a rough noise. He continued to glare at Maz, as if daring her to counter him. Poe could feel Rey and Finn shifting awkwardly beside him as they watched the strange standoff between Luke and Maz, but none of them dared interrupt.

Slowly, Maz removed her huge glasses, regarding Luke with narrowed eyes.

“Ben made his own choices,” Maz said, her voice low. “You have carried his guilt far too long.”

Poe swallowed. They were definitely intruding on some private, shared knowledge now - Poe wanted to ask who Ben was, but the look on Luke’s face stalled him. For a brief moment, Luke looked pained, and Poe had no idea what to make of it.

“Fear leads to hate,” Maz went on, her back straightening as Luke’s own rigid posture sagged.

“I’ve heard this speech before,” Luke sighed, looking resigned.

“Then do something about it,” Maz stated, before rounding on Poe, Finn and Rey. “Do you wish to be trained?” she snapped, shoving her glasses back on. All three of them jerked in surprise at being addressed, Maz’s sharp gaze pinning them in place.

“Yes,” Poe said quickly, his eyes darting to Luke. He couldn’t read Luke’s expression, and that made Poe’s heart squeeze nervously.

“Yes,” Finn agreed, nodding slowly. He was looking between Maz and Luke, a frown on his face.

Rey didn’t say anything for a moment, her mouth forming into a stubborn line. “Trained? What does that even mean?” She shook her head. “Look, I don’t mean any disrespect to you, but I have literally no idea what is going on. I don’t know anything about the Force, or what… all of this is,” she said, gesturing vaguely.

Maz, surprisingly, nodded in approval. “I like this one, she’s smart.” Turning to Luke, Maz flapped a hand at him. “Well, show them.”

“Force help me,” Luke sighed, running a hand through his sandy hair.  

“I don’t think we should get involved with anything until we know more,” Rey added, bolstered by Maz’s approval. Poe felt a little chastised for his own eager acceptance, making a face. She did have a point, but then she hadn’t seen everything that Luke could do.

Luke nodded slowly, turning away from the counter to face them in a rough circle. “I respect that. I… didn’t want to say much, because I had hoped you would be able to return to your normal lives and forget all of this.”

Poe couldn’t help a soft snort at that. “You didn’t really expect us to do that, did you?” he asked, flushing as Luke shot him a look.

“Yes, well,” Luke said, a small smile tugging at his lips. It made Poe’s heart begin to stutter, hopefulness rising in him. Luke’s anger seemed to have drained out of him, after Maz’s berating, and he was more like his usual, enigmatic self. God, Poe didn’t know what he would have done if Luke had stayed mad at them; seeing his smile made Poe’s chest swell with relief, his knees almost going weak with it.

“The Force,” Luke went on, turning his attention on Rey, “is an energy-”

“Don’t talk!” Maz interrupted, looking annoyed again. “Show.”

Luke shot her a glare, irritated again. “Would you just - fine, fine,” he said, exasperated.

Luke held out his hand then, and for a moment, nothing happened.

Poe furrowed his brow, about to ask what was going on, when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. There was an umbrella stand, at the far end of the counter, stuffed with ornamental walking sticks. One of them was rattling from side to side - before Poe could even gasp, it _flew_ out of the stand, smacking into Luke’s palm.

“What the-!” Finn gasped, fumbling with his talisman in surprise.

“How did you do that?” Poe demanded, as Luke closed his fingers around the wooden cane.

Luke had a strange smile on his face now, and when he looked at them, Poe could swear he saw a flash of green in his eyes.

 _I used the Force_ , said Luke’s voice, but his lips weren’t moving. Poe felt heat rise up his neck at alarming speed, his own mouth hanging open in shock. _The Force is an energy that binds all living things. It flows through all of us, connecting us._

“Oh my god,” Rey said, her eyes wide as she stared at Luke. “That’s… how are you doing that?”

“I have trained my whole life to harness it’s power.” Luke said, talking aloud this time. Heat was still prickling at the back of Poe’s neck, and he felt like his stomach had dropped out somewhere along the way. He had no idea that Luke could do _that_ \- Rey was going to be unbearably smug when she realised she was right; they really did know nothing about the Force! Perhaps a normal person might have backed off at this point, but Poe felt excitement rise in him like a tide, and he grinned at Luke, unable to contain himself.

“It’s not an easy life.” Luke went on, glancing down at his hands. “You must train hard, and never use the Force for anything but good.” Looking up again, Luke’s eyes seemed very blue, shining with the conviction of his words. “Jedi are the servants of the Light.” he finished, tapping the walking stick on the ground. “Do you still wish to learn?”

Poe felt like he couldn’t nod fast enough. “Absolutely,” he said, still grinning when Luke raised an eyebrow at him.

Searching the faces of his friends, Poe was relieved to see that neither of them looked afraid - weary, and awed, but not afraid of what Luke was offering them.

Rey was studying Luke with interest, her jaw setting before she spoke. Poe couldn’t read her expression, and it worried him slightly - he expected her to say something along the lines of ‘this is weird’ or ‘you’re crazy’, but in the end she surprised him.

“Show me the sword.”

Maz, who had been watching the whole exchange, nodded with approval at Rey’s question. Luke merely shook his head with a smile. Putting the walking stick aside, he reached inside his coat; with a flourish, Luke drew the blade free from somewhere in the lining, the elegant sabre gleaming in the low light.

“Fu- I mean wow,” Rey said, her eyes suddenly alight with interest.

“They told you about this, didn’t they?” Luke asked, letting her study it.

“Yes, but… I knew you had it,” Rey said, and Poe turned to her, confused.

“What do you mean, you knew he had it?” Poe asked, heat prickling at the back of his neck. It was the same feeling he usually got around Luke, and up until now, Poe couldn’t have said for sure what caused it. But looking at Rey, as she studied the sword with an uncertain expression, Poe knew the feeling was coming from her. Delighted by this strange realisation, Poe grinned at her - the feeling wasn’t strong as the heat Poe felt from Luke, but it was there all the same.

“I could… see it?” Rey said, not sounding so sure herself.

“The Force is already strong in you,” Luke said, giving one of his small smiles as he took a step backwards. Rey yelped in surprise as the blade suddenly ignited, green light filling the dim space around them. Luke smiled wider, a twinkle in his eyes, his face cast in sharp relief by the flickering light.

“That doesn’t get any less impressive,” Finn murmured, his eyes wide with awe.

Poe, heart pounding, couldn’t take his eyes off Luke’s face. “Can we learn to do that?” he asked, a little breathlessly.

“Eventually,” Luke promised, turning his wrist. The light dimmed and faded to nothing, leaving Poe blinking to get the spots out of his eyes.“There are many other things to learn first ,” Luke continued, slipping the blade back inside his coat. “If I agree you should be my students.”

Maz practically growled at that, and she looked set to give Luke another piece of her mind. He merely shrugged, brushing off her ire this time.

“They need to know what they’re getting into first.” he said, before sweeping her a strange little bow.  “Thank you for your time Maz. I’m sure we’ll be back again soon.”

“I’m sure you’ll be too busy with your students,” Maz replied, rather pointedly. It made Poe suppress a smile, as the three of them followed Luke out the door, and back into the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *lies face down on desk* this took... a long time XD I hope it was worth the wait!


	7. I thought you’d all come here to train?

“Come on Poe, you can do it!” Rey said, barely panting as she jogged past. The urge to stick his foot out and trip her was strong, but Poe resisted. Lungs burning, all he could manage was a glare at the back of her head.

Brown leaves surged past as Poe struggled to keep his head up. They were making laps around the local park, where Luke had asked them to meet. Poe wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it hadn’t been  _ actual _ torture - they had been assured it was ‘just a warm up’ - but they must have been running for close to twenty minutes by now.

Finn was breathing heavily and added nothing to Rey’s pep talk. The bastard was still keeping up with Rey though, silent and resilient. Poe couldn’t even begin to keep pace with them, his muscles straining as they moved ahead.

God, he'd been telling himself for ages that he needed to drop the crisps and get fit, but this was just overkill. People in the park were beginning to stare, some in genuine concern, and Poe let his head drop with a moan. The gravel and dirt under his feet became a dizzying blur, the muscles in his legs on fire, burning with the effort to keep going. His chest pulled with each wheezing breath, and Poe grit his teeth. He might  _ actually _ die if they didn't stop soon.

“Just a little further,” said a warm voice, right by his ear - now Poe was certain he was going to die. Luke, whom he had privately crowned the king of fit bastards, didn't even look sweaty. 

It was the first time Poe had seen him in anything other than his coat or a smart shirt - he wore a black tracksuit, his jacket unzipped to reveal an unfairly tight grey vest. Poe didn’t have the energy to stare, though he could still feel his cheeks burning. Luke jogged past him at an easy pace, his movements smooth and coordinated as he lapped past Finn and Rey. He'd already done that twice; Rey was beginning to look a bit peeved. Poe would have found it funny if he didn't feel like was having a heart attack.

The pain was beginning to give him uncomfortable flashbacks to his school days. There had been that one nightmarish sports day, when he'd been chosen to do the long distance run, expect this time Poe didn't have the option of bunking off. Sweat was running down his forehead and sticking in his hair - he made a noise of pure frustration as Luke continued to jog on, not even looking like he was close to stopping. 

Luke finally, after an age of Poe dragging his feet and trying not to trip over himself, stopped at the gate. Rey and Finn slowed to a gentle stop, as Poe practically careened into all three of them.

“Oh God,” he gasped, or tried to, his knees wobbling. Bending over, he sucked in air, trying to gain some composure. If this training wasn't worth the pain he was in now, he was going to strangle Luke with one of his expensive scarves.

“It'll get easier with practice,” Luke assured them, although Poe suspected that was mostly for his benefit.

“Come on buddy, it's not that bad,” Finn said, panting. 

Poe managed to grunt out his displeasure. His muscles felt like noodles - Luke was urging them to stretch out, although he was much more in favour of lying face down. Groaning, he pushed into the positions that Luke was showing them, wishing he could just die in peace. After all that, Rey only had a light sheen of perspiration and Finn was looking sweaty, but Poe felt like someone had dumped some really unpleasant liquid down his back. The cool air made it worse; Poe was shivering by the time Luke was leading them back to his house.

“I’m never doing that again,” Poe said, when he was finally able to speak without gasping.

“Yes you will,” Luke replied, an easy smile on his face. He looked startlingly normal, his hands tucked into his pockets. “The better your physical fitness, the easier you will find my training.”

“Oh goody,” Rey said, disgustingly sincere. Poe glared at her gleeful expression, and Finn shook his head with a smile.

“I never thought I would be glad for all those times you dragged me to the gym,” Finn said, a spring in his step. Both of them had recovered appallingly fast; as Luke let them into his grand terrace house, Poe had the unfortunate sinking feeling that they had only just begun.

“Wow, your house is really nice,” Rey said. Poe had forgotten she’d never been inside; he flicked his gaze to Luke as Rey looked over the antique furniture. He seemed pleased by the complement, dropping his door keys into a fancy little bowl.

“Thank you,” Luke said. His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, something in his expression turning sombre. It was funny; the more time Poe spent around Luke, the more he felt like he was beginning to understand and catalogue his expressions - which, on reflection, seemed a bit sad and bordering on obsessive. Worrying his lip, Poe forcibly tore his gaze away. He needed to stay focused on what they were here for - Luke probably wouldn’t appreciate his wandering attention whilst they were training.

They didn’t loiter in the hallway long - Luke led them up the stairs, past his bedroom and right up to the top of the house. “This is my training room,” he said, spreading his arms with a flourish to encompass the large space that opened up around them.

Poe wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but Luke’s training room was nothing like the rest of his house. It was very modern - the floor was tiled with shiny pine planks, like a dance studio. Instead of mirrors, there were windows on either side, pale light streaming through the blinds. 

The most arresting sight was the ceiling; there was no attic, the space opening right up into the eves of the house, the entire roof criss crossed with metal bars. It was like a gymnasium on steroids - the first set went right across from one side to another, but as they went up the bars were all angled differently, getting shorter and shorter as they rose up to the tightest part of the roof.

“Wow,” Finn said.

“Impressive?” Luke said, planting his hands on his hips.

“If you want to make the Olympics look sane, then sure,” Poe said, amused by the look Luke shot him. 

“What are they for?” Rey asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“You’ll see. We’ll use them later,” Luke said, stripping off his jacket and throwing it over the stair banister.

“Use them?” Poe started, frowning at Luke. “How do we even reach them?”

Poe wasn’t exactly tall, but neither were any of the others; he couldn’t imagine any of them reaching them without a ladder. He could possibly brush them with his hand if he jumped, but even that seemed a bit of a stretch. In answer, Luke walked past them, strolling casually into the centre of the room. His sleeveless vest displayed how muscular his arms were, his body trim and athletic. As Poe watched, Luke bent his legs, his gaze fixing firmly on one of the bars.

“Whoa!” Rey gasped, as Luke sprang into the air. He caught the bar with his metal hand and swung himself up, planting his feet gracefully on the beam. His thin trainers curled around the bar, perfectly balanced as he grinned down at them, giving them a mock bow.

“Trust me, you’ll reach them.” Luke said, before looking up and pointing into the corner of the roof. “That’s the highest bar. Once you can reach that on your own, I’ll show you how to use a lightsabre.”

It was very, very high. Poe had had never considered that he might be afraid of heights, but the sight of the bar made him swallow. Some of his humour drained away as he watched Luke so far up, his palms suddenly sweaty - Luke seemed perfectly at ease though, stretching up to rest his wrist against another bar.

“Hey, what are these?” Rey asked, distracted by something else. 

She was like a kid in a sweet shop - Poe was so focused on studying Luke, he hadn’t noticed much else in the room. He really needed to stop doing that - if he fell of those bars because he was distracted, things were going to get messy. Sighing to himself, he spotted what Rey was looking at; there was a long shelf against the far wall, littered with photo frames and odd knick knacks. They seemed a bit out of place in the otherwise sterile studio. 

Luke dropped down beside them with a soft thud, and Poe jumped.

“ _ Shit, _ ” Poe said, clutching his chest. “How are your legs not broken?”

“The Force,” Luke said, wiggling his fingers with a grin.

Finn looked as if he was trying hard not to laugh, and Rey looked on patiently, her mouth quirking into a smile. Her initial suspicion of Luke had eased completely - after they’d left the antique shop last week, she had pelted him with question after question, until she was satisfied they were making the right choice. Luke had made them very aware of the potential dangers. Surprisingly, that was the thing that mollified Rey the most. 

“He seems quite sensible about it,” Rey had said, as they’d walked back to the tube. “I mean, fucking hell, I can’t believe this is all real,” they laughed together, before Rey said; “but at least he seems to know what he’s doing, unlike you two.”

“Hey, I resemble that remark,” Poe had said, making a face. It was good to feel like Rey had forgiven them, finally. 

Luke’s amused expression drew Poe back to the present, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “So serious, oh Jedi Master.”

“Don’t call me Master, it makes me feel old,” Luke said, laughing softly.

“Well, you say that… actually, I’d better keep that thought to myself,” Poe said, his grin returning. Luke narrowed his eyes.

“Yes, I think you’d better.”

Poe’s smile widened as their eyes met. Just like that, the humour drained from Luke’s face, replaced by a cool, closed off expression. His own smile faltering, Poe felt something tight and uncomfortable close around his heart.

He wasn’t sure what to make of it. Luke wasn’t mad at him anymore, he was pretty certain, but he still seemed a bit more… distant. Frowning, Poe finally looked away, following the others to the back of the room. They were stood before the strange collection now, and Luke stood stiffly as he joined them. “It’s just few Jedi artefacts that are safe to keep out in the open.”

“There are some that aren’t?” Finn said, frowning. 

“Oh yes,” Luke breathed, his expression darkening. 

Finn shuddered. “Forget I asked.”

Most of the objects wouldn't have looked out of place in the antique shop - they were gilded things in all shapes and sizes, decorated with metal and precious stones. Poe was no expert, but they looked a bit East Asian. The closer they go, the warmer Poe began to feel, the heat creeping up through his fingertips.

“Who’s in the pictures?” Rey asked, inspecting some of the frames. There were faded photographs, a few in black and white. Poe flicked his gaze over the faces, his eyes stopping on a young man with bright blonde, floppy hair. In the picture he was wearing some wide shorts and a t-shirt that looked like it had been acid dyed by a maniac. A fresh smile began to creep across Poe’s face.

“Luke, is that you?” he said, delighted further by Luke’s disgruntled expression.

“It is. Anyway, I thought you’d all come here to train?” Luke replied, crossing his arms. 

“I dunno, I think your tie-dye shirt might have blinded me,” Poe said. He saw Finn smother a laugh out of the corner of his eye, as Rey continued to derail their lesson.

“So are these other Jedi?” she asked, still inspecting each picture.

Luke rubbed a hand over his face, sighing heavily. “Alright, fine. If I’d known they would distract you this much, I wouldn’t have put them up.” Poe shared a knowing grin with Finn, as Luke indulged Rey’s curiosity. “That’s Ben Kenobi, he was my father’s teacher before he was mine.”

Poe looked again at the picture, studying Luke’s youthful face and the much older man next to him. Ben Kenobi was very stoic looking, compared to the young Luke, who was grinning from ear to ear. They were in a few more pictures together, along with more of Luke’s crimes against fashion (how the hell he had learnt to dress so well now, Poe had no idea).

“That’s Leia Organa, isn’t it?” Rey said, a hint of awe in her voice. She pointed to another picture of Luke, this time embracing a woman. Their affection for each other was clear, their heads bent together as they hugged each other tightly. The third figure in the picture, another man, was embracing them both around the shoulders.

“That’s her, and her husband, Han.” Luke replied, smiling fondly. 

“Is she a Jedi too?” Finn asked, looking curiously at Luke.

“Only in ways she chooses to be,” Luke said, shrugging. “My sister has never had much time for my methods, apparently.”

“I bet she’ll be thrilled to know I’m here,” Rey said, smiling earnestly. Strangely, Luke winced. He looked like he was about to say something more, but Rey moved on. “So who’s this?”

The last picture was of Luke and a very elderly man. They were somewhere tropical, sitting on the roots of a jungle tree. The old man was tiny, his face so wrinkled that his features were sunken. Even in the picture, his eyes were twinkling, a slight smile on his ancient face.

“Ah,” Luke smiled, his tone fond. “That’s Master Yoda. He was the greatest Jedi Master of the last century. I was very privileged to train with him in India before he passed on.”

Looking across all the pictures, Poe wondered why Luke was sharing something so intimate with them. All of the photographs were memories, of people and times that were part of who Luke was. It said something, that Luke kept them in his training space. Did he look at them every day, and remember? Now that he thought about it, Poe wasn’t sure he had any pictures of his family; he’d left all of that with his da when he’d moved out. He’d never needed pictures to remember his mum - but seeing all of Luke’s memories laid out here, to be seen every day, left him strangely bereft. He hadn’t even thought to put a picture of mum in his bedroom. 

“Right, well, we’ve all had a good look now,” Luke said briskly, back to business. “I need you to find a space in the centre of the room, and we’ll learn some meditation stances.”

Meditation stances turned out not to be as relaxing as they sounded; Luke had them standing with their knees bent, palms facing the floor, breathing in and out until ‘they couldn’t stand it anymore’. It didn’t sound hard at first, but even after a minute, Poe’s legs were beginning to shake. It didn’t help that his mind was still on the pictures. He hadn’t missed the fact there were no pictures of Luke’s parents, although it was possible he kept them in other parts of the house. His lack of focus didn’t help his training much, and Poe didn’t last very long - Rey lasted the longest, but he only got a small amount of satisfaction from seeing how hard she found it.

“You wouldn’t think standing would be so difficult,” Finn said, rubbing his knees.

“It’s not just standing,” Luke explained. They all groaned as he showed them the second stance, which was about as hard on the knees as the first one. “It stimulates the Force energy inside you. Trust me, you do these every day, you’ll feel the benefits.”

“Why is everything so good for you always so painful?” Poe said, wincing. 

“It’s like medicine; you’ve just got to take it.”

The smile Luke gave him was bright, his cheeks dimpling with it, before he quickly looked away. Poe sighed internally. He needed to focus, not think about why Luke was avoiding his gaze. Telling himself that wasn’t much use though - once Luke had shown them the series of stances, Finn and Rey went very quiet, focusing on holding them as long as possible. Poe tried, but his concentration was shot. Thoughts of the photographs and Luke’s smile kept popping back into his mind, and as hard as he tried to shove them aside, they just kept circling around his brain. After what seemed like an age, Luke finally gave them a break, handing them each a bottle of water.

“Well, you’ve all made a good start. We’ll go slow at first, and see how you progress.” 

Luke gave them each a floor pillow, all of which were decorated with paisley and looked suspiciously hand made, and invited them to sit on the floor with him. He sank down into a lotus position like it was nothing, back perfectly straight. Both Finn and Rey gave it a try - Rey was rather more successful - but Poe just threw himself down with his knees up to his chin. Luke gave him a little quirk of his lips, and Poe resisted the urge to stick his tongue out. He might be here voluntarily, but he wasn’t going to become limber and graceful overnight.

Something soft brushed against Poe’s foot, and he jumped, two luminous yellow eyes gazing up at him.

“Oh god, BB, you scared the shit out of me,” he said. BB yowled in greeting as Poe scooped him up. He’d never been so pleased to see the stupid little cat.

“She’s come to take pity on us,” Finn said, as BB made herself comfortable and began purring like a motor in Poe’s arms. It made the position and his tiredness strangely more bearable. 

The other two cats wandered past, brushing against Luke before patrolling the edges of the studio.

“They’re attracted to the Force energy in the room,” Luke said, holding his hand out for the short grey cat to sniff. Poe vaguely remembered it being called Artoo. 

“Oh, I told you BB was Luke’s cat.” Poe said to Rey, holding BB tighter even as he said it. She gave him a knowing look.

“You mentioned it,” she said, draining her water bottle. “So anyway, do you also meditate like this as well?” Rey asked, gesturing to their crossed legs.

Luke gave a soft smile as Artoo wondered off to join Threepio. “Not much, but I’ll show you how. This is beginner level mediation. Usually this is taught to children,” Luke said, grinning sheepishly.

“Well, don’t we feel accomplished,” Poe said, forcing his legs into a semblance of order, BB making a mewl of protest. He could cross them, but not for very long.

“You’ll be amazed how quickly you advance,” Luke said, settling into what Poe was beginning to think of as his ‘teacher voice’. “Although the Force is the singular energy that drives the Universe, the Jedi harness it in three different ways. The three disciplines are physical, mental, and spiritual. Most Jedi find they are attuned to one of those in particular, so you might find the physical aspects easier, or you have a strong mental ability… we’ll train for everything.”

“Which one are you strongest in?” Finn said, leaning forward with interest.

Luke gave them another of his enigmatic smiles. “Oh, I’m strong in all three. Well, and some adjacent abilities, but they’re quite rare.”

When Luke had taken them to the antique shop, he’d spoken to them inside their heads. That was definitely a mental ability, but Poe wasn’t sure what the others could be. Possibly the lightsabre fell into the physical category, but that was just a guess. 

“There’s still so much we don’t know,” Rey sighed, and Luke gave her a sympathetic smile.

“Don’t worry, I’ve had twenty years to study most of it. And that’s nothing compared to some Jedi masters I’ve known.”

“Great,” Poe grumbled, although he wasn’t that put off. The prospect of spending the next twenty years studying under Luke was making him feel a little giddy. On some level, he was beginning to accept that nothing might ever happen between them - looking at him now, Poe could see Luke reserved the same friendly smiles for both Finn and Rey. It hurt a little, an uncomfortable knot forming in his chest. But if he wanted to train with Luke, and learn all about his crazy world, he couldn’t risk making things awkward between them - or more awkward than they already were. That was the last thing he wanted to do.

“Oh, I should mention,” Luke began, taking a breath. “Because you are my students, a spontaneous bond will form between us. My Masters called it a training bond - it’s similar to a mental link, but not quite.”

Poe’s thoughts stuttered to a halt, his brain derailing. “A mental link?” he said, panic fluttering in his chest. Luke had neglected to mention that  _ before _ they started training. “Will you be able to read our minds?”

“No no, nothing like that. We will have some sense of each other’s emotions though. You three will be able to sense each other as well. Oh, and more importantly, I’ll be able to sense if any of you are in danger.”

“I guess that’s useful then,” Rey said, although she sounded dubious. Poe was trying to get his heart to calm down - if Luke could ever see what he was thinking, it wouldn’t just be awkward, it would be mortifying.

BB butted her head against his hand, demanding more of his attention. It gave Poe a moment of respite from his thoughts, and he silently her. At least they understood each other - he’d always suspected BB was smarter than the average feline, but that was probably a huge underestimate, considering she was Force sensitive. 

“Will we be able to block it, if we want some privacy?” Finn asked. Poe was glad he wasn’t the only one concerned about that, worrying his fingers against BB’s chin.

Luke nodded, giving them a sympathetic smile. “I can teach you to mute it, if that concerns you.”

“Yeah, I think that might be a good idea. We’re not exactly used to being in each other’s heads.”

“I like you guys, but not that much,” Poe said, grinning weakly. 

Luke let out a soft laugh. “Alright, enough resting. I think we’ll do some more physical exercises.”

All three of them groaned. “BB please save us, you’re our only hope,” Poe said, holding BB out like a shield. She dangled from his hands, utterly unimpressed by his plea. “Useless cat.”

-

Seeing Luke every day was not necessarily a good thing. Now Poe was privy to his smaller, more intimate moments - he got to see Luke in his private spaces, as he made them tea and snacks after training. He had little rituals around the kitchen, always absently petting his cats, or tapping spoons against surfaces. Luke was also careful with his metal hand, often concealing it inside sleeves or behind his body. Poe didn’t want to embarrass Luke by mentioning it, as it was obviously something that still bothered him - but how could he say ‘hey, actually I like your metal cyborg hand’ without sounding like a weirdo?

Poe frowned at the coffee machine in front of him. He’d been so lost in his thoughts, he’d cleaned the same part three times. Sighing, he threw the cloth down and looked for something else to do. There was no matinee today, which meant Poe was bored out of his mind. It was dangerous for him, having nothing to do - at least when he was busy, he wasn’t thinking about Luke every second of the day.

The worst thing, the thing that Poe tried his hardest not to think about, was something he couldn’t control. It was obvious, to him at least, that he was Luke’s worst student. Rey was beautifully, fantastically gifted with the Force - Poe was so happy for her, especially when her face lit up with joy at the merest success. She’d made a stick twitch the other day, and Luke’s pleasure had been obvious. Something dark and squirming had taken up residence in Poe’s stomach, and he’d squashed it as firmly as he could. Even Finn was starting to sense things - it was beginning to make Poe feel like a fraud, like he was just playing pretend. Luke never looked at him in disappointment, only gave him small, encouraging smiles -which made Poe feel like a disappointment nonetheless. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” 

Poe almost dropped the cup in his hand, swearing as Jess peered at him. “Jesus Christ woman, don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“Sorry, you just look like someone killed your hamster.” Jess said, not in the least bit apologetic.

“I don’t have a hamster,” Poe said, a little mullish. She was probably right - he was letting himself get caught up in depressing thoughts again. 

“That, my friend, is called a metaphor,” She patted him on the arm, her eyes wide with mock sympathy. 

“Oh gosh, I never would have guessed,” Poe said, a smile cracking on his face. 

“I have to check with you sometimes, you know. You’re such a pretty airhead.”

“I know where you live, Jess.” Poe warned, holding out his dish cloth.

“What are going to do, come and wash all my dishes?” She snatched the cloth out of his hand, grinning and bumping him with her hip. “Come on mopey, it might never happen. We should go out you know, you haven’t gone out with me in ages.”

Poe was startled to realise she was right. He’d been training with Luke since the beginning of October, and it was almost Bonfire Night now. It was so consuming that Poe hadn’t noticed the time flying by, all his attention caught up in Luke’s strange world. He’d spent more time with Finn and Rey than he had in years, but he’d neglected his other friends in the process. Thinking about it, Poe wasn’t even sure of the last time he’d even spoken to Jess outside of work. 

Better to do something than feel guilty about it. Bumping her hip in returned, he grinned. “You’re right, let’s go get hammered,” he said, snatching his cloth back. Luke said he needed to get fit, but he hadn’t mentioned anything about giving up alcohol. Not something Poe was going to ask about in a hurry. 

“That’s my boy. So what have you been up to recently, you hanging out with that fit older guy still?”

“Um, something like that.” 

Jess hadn’t probed too much since she’d left Poe alone with Luke. He was hugely grateful for that, because what on earth would he say? Turns out Luke was actually some kind of wizard - that wouldn’t go down overly well. 

It was more than just the weirdness though; Luke’s world came with it’s risks, he’d made that abundantly clear to them. Jess didn’t need to know about the possible, unseen dangers this world held - there was already enough for her and his other friends to worry about. The burden of the few, Luke had called it. Even he still knew more than they did, about what could possibly come for them next; there was always a certain nervousness to Luke’s posture, a flicker in his eyes whenever they trained out in public together. 

That was the other thing that was beginning to bother him - the other day Rey had said she could sense Luke was concerned about something, and he’d told her not to worry about it. Of course Rey would be the first to sense the training bond; she was undoubtedly the strongest of the three of them, and not even Finn had mentioned feeling any emotions yet. It didn’t make Poe feel much better. Even if he only had a whiff of Force ability, it wasn’t showing itself at all.

Without the training bond, Luke wouldn’t be able to sense if he was in danger. Poe still had the amulet though - he wore it every day, now used to the feeling of the heavy pendant around his neck, the metal warmed by his skin. Right now it felt uncomfortably warm, and Poe fingered it under his apron. Was it hot in here, or was it just him?

“Oh god, don’t look now,” Jess said, breaking Poe from his thoughts. He did look, and then instantly regretted it.

They had a few regular customers in the cafe - tall, ginger and snobby was Poe’s least favourite. He remembered him especially because he’d been here the day Poe had first seen Luke, and continued to hang around like a bad smell. Today he was with someone - another tall man Poe had seen before, with curly black hair. The pair of them were dressed in all black, which only added to their detached, sombre air. 

Plastering on a smile, Poe approached the counter. “What can I get you?”

Poe wasn’t normally bothered by his height, but these two made him feel suddenly quite small. A creeping sensation ran up his spine, and Poe strained to keep his smile.

“The usual,” Ginger said, before glancing at his dark friend. The other man stared at Poe with an unblinking gaze, his pale skin sallow in the bright lights - there was a flicker of something in his eyes, like Poe was a particularly interesting specimen. It was deeply uncomfortable, and the crawling sensation intensified, like insects scuttling across his skin. 

“Americano, black,” he said at last, and Poe turned abruptly to make their orders. He wasn’t sure he could stand to be in the same breathing space as them anymore.

Neither of them spoke as Poe fumbled through their order, their gazes like hot brands on his back. All the hair on his neck rose - the drinks seemed to take an age to make, and when Poe finally turned, he was careful not to meet their eyes.

“That’ll be eight fifty please,” he said, holding his hand. The darker man had eyes like fathomless black pools, his stare unblinking as he handed over the money. Poe dropped the ten pound note in the till like it burned, thrusting the change into the man’s hand before whisking his own hand away.

They took their orders wordlessly and left - Poe’s chest eased, a tight pressure releasing. Sagging against the counter, he clutched at the amulet under his apron, not sure what to make of it.

“Those guys are creeps,” Jess said, frowning after them. Poe sighed, running a hand over his face. They were creepy, and despite his feelings, that was all - Poe now knew there were far worse things out there for him to worry about.

“Yeah. They don’t even tip,” he said, pointing at the small bowl of coins on their counter. There were a few pennies, along with a 50p an old lady had given them.

Jess snorted. “No one tips us Poe. We don’t deserve money, we’re clearly here for our own pleasure.”

“Speak for yourself,” he muttered, a laugh escaping him as Jess elbowed him in the side. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for your comments and kudos! I've been buried in work for a long time, but finally this chapter is finished! It's not perfect, but I really want to get this story done before I start any new big projects XD thanks again for everyone who is enjoying it! It's been a challenge to write (god is it really 7 chapters and still not done!?) but one I hope will be worth it :3


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